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Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

voguebusiness.com

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Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#31

Post by rcarr »

havblue wrote: post #17
rcarr wrote: post #12

I've completely stopped wearing cotton. Everything I wear is now polyester and elastane. Socks, underwear, trousers, boots, t-shirts, mid-layers, jackets, hats - all of it. I know this has it's own issues with micro plastics but the clothes are way comfier, take up less space, are less prone to stains, are quicker to dry, hold heat when wet and are more durable to boot. Personally I think it's the way forward.

I agree to a point: polyester blends tend to hold their color better and smell better. They also tend to be constructed better as I've had too many issues with cotton shirts that get holes in them or get wrinkled too easily. I'm not sure if I agree on the comfort though, which is why I tend to go with a blend.

Try on some Under Armour 5 Pocket Drive Pants if you get the opportunity, I’d be surprised if you wanted to go back to jeans (for comfort reasons at least).

Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#32

Post by scythe »

denton-scratch wrote: post #11
dsr_ wrote: post #9

The material: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyocell is a variant of rayon.

Thanks - the article doesn't make clear how they are recycling denim. They say that their product can be recycled in the same way as the original denim, but they don't say that's because they've reduced it to rayon. They're making out that they're making new denim from old denim. In that respect, it's deceptive.

Lyocell is technically in the rayon family but it's got roughly double the tensile strength of viscose (common) rayon. You can see the difference with an electron microscope:

https://www.undershirts.co.uk/blogs/research/viscose-vs-moda...

Having owned several articles of clothing made from both, they're very much not the same — in particular, lyocell lasts a lot longer.

Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#33

Post by Groxx »

BenoitP wrote: post #2

One thing sustainability, fashion and denim: we could start by not artificially preusing it. Also: is it me or about 20 years ago a pair of jeans lasted way longer than they currently do? Maybe thinner materials were introduced for softness?

Most are dramatically thinner and more comfortable now (slight stretch, more tolerant of more temperatures, significantly softer and more flexible, etc).

They've become daily normal-comfort normal-fashion wear rather than work wear. Of course they aren't as durable on average - it's a completely different material at this point, sold for a different purpose.

Durable stuff still exists, it's just harder to find because it shares the same name.

Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#34

Post by lostlogin »

rcarr wrote: post #12

I've completely stopped wearing cotton. Everything I wear is now polyester and elastane. Socks, underwear, trousers, boots, t-shirts, mid-layers, jackets, hats - all of it. I know this has it's own issues with micro plastics but the clothes are way comfier, take up less space, are less prone to stains, are quicker to dry, hold heat when wet and are more durable to boot. Personally I think it's the way forward.

I hope it isn’t the way forward - little bits of it come off when washing and drying. Micro plastic galore.

Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#35

Post by lostlogin »

twobitshifter wrote: post #6

Reduce - buy jeans that last a lifetime. Reuse - buy your jeans from a thrift store. Recycle - this? So it’s the last choice, but most clothes today just end up in the trash, since durability is fairly awful. Even after one wash some clothes start to lose their shape and color. What will the durability of recycled clothes look like if the recycling inputs are so poor? Will people pay any less for these clothes? I won…

You have reminded me about old jeans and those that collect them.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/cache-of-19th-century...

Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#36

Post by AlgorithmicTime »

FalconSensei wrote: post #24
AlgorithmicTime wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's realistic for you to expect your jeans to last a lifetime. I buy decent jeans once a year. The new pair is for daily wear. The old pair is retired for manual labor. The old-old pair is retired to when I crawl under the house.

> I don't think it's realistic for you to expect your jeans to last a lifetime. > I buy decent jeans once a year. WHAT? I have jeans I got 10 years ago and are still good. And they weren't even expensive

What do you do in your jeans?

I wear the same pair daily to do pretty much everything. I work, I shop, pick the kids up, walk to my parents house, do yard work, hike, literally everything in the same pair of jeans. I don't think there's a fabric yet made that could withstand the abuse I put on them for more than a year.

Although this pair I'm about to replace is at 16 months so I will revise to say "about a year"

Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#37

Post by rcarr »

lostlogin wrote: post #34
rcarr wrote: post #12

I've completely stopped wearing cotton. Everything I wear is now polyester and elastane. Socks, underwear, trousers, boots, t-shirts, mid-layers, jackets, hats - all of it. I know this has it's own issues with micro plastics but the clothes are way comfier, take up less space, are less prone to stains, are quicker to dry, hold heat when wet and are more durable to boot. Personally I think it's the way forward.

I hope it isn’t the way forward - little bits of it come off when washing and drying. Micro plastic galore.

This problem can be pretty easily solved with finer washing machine filters and/or guppyfriend bags.

Re: Recycled denim: a breakthrough?

#39

Post by nabilhat »

jerlam wrote: post #5
BenoitP wrote: post #2

One thing sustainability, fashion and denim: we could start by not artificially preusing it. Also: is it me or about 20 years ago a pair of jeans lasted way longer than they currently do? Maybe thinner materials were introduced for softness?

Jeans also started getting skinnier/slimmer 20 years ago, and that trend demanded thinner and stretchier fabrics. Thick, baggy work jeans are no doubt more durable but not fashionable.

It's actually become hard to find proper work jeans with no synthetic content now, even the baggy stuff where fit isn't so important. All of Duluth's stuff is part spandex or polyester now. Most Carhartt contains spandex or polyester, always check if it's important. Even if it's only a few percent, it's going to make cancer fumes if you're doing hot work.

Fabric manufacturers trending towards thinner and stretchier fabrics is primarily driven by production factors. Most dramatically, cutting the fabric. Stretchy fabrics are more accommodating to lay out flat for cutting, and thinner fabrics increase layer count in cut stacks [0]. Cutting thick stacks like this isn't remotely consistent, and why different instances of the same size garmet often vary in fit and size. Stretchy fabrics can be made with less precision and still "fit", reducing quality constraints to allow cheaper methods.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iRa2fWVSNE

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