The Hard Truth About "Recycled" (The Fiber-to-Fiber Crisis)

In sustainable fashion marketing, “recycled" is a term often used to lure customers into buying a product. Many consumers believe their discarded gym leggings or tees are melted down and made into fresh garments. Unfortunately, the hard truth is that the circular economy in fashion is more broken line than circle. Most recycled garments you buy were once plastic water bottles. Once they wear out, their journey almost certainly ends in a landfill. In this article, we explore the fiber-to-fiber crisis. We explain what it truly means to the world of sustainable fashion.

The 1% Statistic About Fashion Circularity

If you look at the tag of a recycled polyester garment, you are certainly seeing rPET(recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate). Most recycled clothes in the market are made from plastic bottles (rPET), not old clothes. Diverting plastic bottles from the ocean is a net positive impact. However, it hides a staggering industry failure. The fashion industry is yet to achieve true circularity. Turning an old hoodie into a new hoodie remains the hardest engineering challenge.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, less than 1% of clothing is actually recycled back into new clothing. On the contrary, most "recycled" clothes are downcycled. When you drop your old clothes into a collection bin, they are rarely turned back into yarn. Instead, they are shredded for low-value applications, including carpet padding, building insulation, and industrial cleaning rags.

Once a polyester garment gets old, it can never be recycled again. Therefore, the perceived recycling process in fashion is flawed. We take a plastic bottle that could be recycled into another bottle multiple times. By turning it into a t-shirt, we transform a recyclable item into a non-recyclable one.

The Fashion Engineering Nightmare: Mechanically vs. Chemically Recycled

Why is it so hard to turn an old hoodie into a new one? It is both due to the recycling method used and the nature of the fibers used. Recycling can either be mechanical or chemical, and this determines which garments can be recycled. 

Mechanical recycling, or the shredder method, is the most common and affordable. It involves giant machines that tear fabric apart to reclaim the fibers. The input can be materials from outside the textile industry. It can include fabrics from within the industry. It can also include PET water bottles in the case of polyester. Through a violent process that breaks the fibers, the output is shorter and weaker fibers. The recycled fibers have lower tensile strength. They cannot be recycled at end-of-life unless mixed with virgin materials. This is why you rarely see 100% mechanically recycled cotton. In most cases, the cotton fibers are blended with virgin fibers. This gives them enough strength to withstand washing.

In chemical recycling, or the molecular method, solvents break textiles down to their molecular building blocks (monomers). They filter out dyes and contaminants. They then rebuild them into a fiber that is identical to virgin quality. The resulting recycled fibers have the same strength and performance characteristics as virgin fibers. This also means that they can be recycled multiple times. Although this method helps in achieving fashion circularity, it is incredibly expensive and energy-intensive. It currently lacks the infrastructure to handle the world’s billions of tons of textile waste. 

The Challenge of Blends

The biggest technical barrier to a circular fashion world is the cotton/poly blend. If you look at most clothes today, you will notice they are labelled "60% Cotton, 40% Polyester." To a recycler, this is a nightmare. Separating the two fibers is technically and economically challenging. Even if it can be done, the process will result in significant textile waste and landfill accumulation.

One of the fibers is natural (cellulose) while the other is synthetic (plastic). This means that each requires a completely different recycling process. There is no commercially viable way to separate these fibers at scale. That soft-blend hoodie will most likely end up as landfill fodder or insulation. This is why TURTLEGROOVE hoodies and tees are 100% Organic Cotton. By using a mono-material, we ensure our garments are actually "recyclable," not just "recycled." This will matter if cotton recycling technology scales up.

The Microplastic Nuance

In addition to 100% Organic Cotton hoodies and tees, we also sell recycled swimwear made from rPET. We do this because swimwear requires technical stretch and durability that organic fibers cannot provide. However, we do this with the understanding that recycled polyester still sheds microplastics.

A study by Changing Markets Foundation revealed that recycled fibers can be more brittle than virgin plastic. They can even shed more micro-fibers during a wash cycle. However, this does not mean that they cannot be used sustainably. Buying recycled saves carbon of up to 70% compared to virgin polyester. It also keeps plastic out of the sea.

To reduce the environmental impact of rPET garments, care is as important as the production phase. Once you purchase our recycled swimwear, we recommend:

• Washing Bags: Using a Guppyfriend or similar filtration bag helps to catch micro-fibers.
• Cold Wash: Washing your swimwear in cold water prevents fiber breakdown by heat.
• Spot Cleaning: Avoid washing your swimwear unless it's actually dirty. Only spot clean to remove stains.

The Move Towards True Circularity

The hard truth is meant to empower you. It should help you understand what the term “recycle” really means. Key players are truly advocating for circularity. However, the fashion industry will only change when consumers demand better than bottle-to-garment recycling. This means buying 100% mono-materials, like our organic cotton, so they can actually be processed. It also means supporting the tech that can handle complex waste. Finally, it means encouraging radical longevity by owning a garment for longer. 

At TURTLEGROOVE, we don't claim to have solved the fiber-to-fiber crisis. No brand has. However, we remain transparent about the engineering challenges the fashion industry faces. We hope it will move away from marketing myths towards a future where sustainability actually means sustainable.