Rethreads

Joonas Lumpeinen

Used to be that our only choices for what to do with old clothing were sell, give away, or throw away. We may soon have a fourth, because a group of organizations in Finland has developed a way of turning old fabric into new. Called cellulose wet-spinning, it uses the same technique and equipment as those to make viscose but is more environment-friendly in that it doesn't require the use of carbon disulphide. It is also a step up from the process used to make first-generation cotton fabric, as its water footprint is more than 70 percent lower and its carbon footprint is 40 to 50 percent lower. The first clothing line made entirely of this reused fiber is expected to be available by the end of the year.: http://www.vttresearch.com/media/news/unique-production-experiment-in-progress-turning-waste-cotton-into-new-fibre-for-the-fashion-industry