1 September 2015
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The recycling industry is continuously growing with new statistic released on a regular basis and large brands doing what they can to become more sustainable. Therefore I thought it would be useful to do a monthly blog article presenting the most interesting eco efforts.
England’s Household Recycling Rates On The Rise
First of all I need to start with the fact that England’s household recycling rates have edged up to almost 45% according to Defra. The 44.8% for 2014 is a 0.6% increase on the previous 12 months to December 2013. The overall increase was due to an increase in organics recycling which was up 9.9%.
Fashion Giants H&M Continue Their Bid For Sustainable Fashion
High street fashion giant H&M have offered 2 huge recycling efforts within the space of 3 weeks in order to continue their bid for sustainable fashion.
At the start of the month the brand announced their launch for the nation’s first Fashion Recycling Week. They have teamed up with London College of Fashion and challenged the students to create huge window displays for their stores. These will be created using only clothes donated through their own Garment Collecting Initiative which attempts to reduce waste in the fashion industry through the repurposing of unwanted clothes. The fashion week will run from August 31 to September 6.
H&M’s second recycling effort comes with a very generous 1 million euro prize to those who come up with new recycling techniques. This move comes after critics point out the damage being caused by the throwaway culture that comes with the purchase of cheap clothes. The current recycling techniques for cotton in particular make poor-quality fibres and there is no efficient way to recycle garments of mixed materials, so the vast majority of waste clothes end up in landfills.
AG Barr’s Bru-Drinkers Will Be Encouraged To Recycle From Home
Irn Bru makers AG Barr is to scrap its 30p buyback scheme for customer who return glass bottles. After 110 years Bru-drinkers will be encouraged to recycle their glass bottles at home or at public facilities. The move comes as the company is to invest £5 million in facilities that fill bottles quicker at its Cumbernauld plant.
The brand have said they will continue to offer their 750ml glass bottle, but their return rates have dropped from 90% in the 1990s to around 50% so the scheme has become uneconomic.
Livia Firth’s Recycled Plastic Bottle Dress
Livia Firth stunned the crowd at this year’s Met Ball with her recycled dress. The dress was made entirely out of post-consumer recycled plastic bottles that are broken down and redesigned into the fibres that were sewn together to create the dress.
Her husband, actor Colin Firth also made a green wardrobe choice. He wore a 100% organic wool suit which he had previously worn in 2011 – which is obviously a no-go in the celebrity world.
The Hollywood couple proved that the eco-friendly fashion is greatly achievable and not just for fleeces made by Columbia Sportswear. 
