What is Recron® GreenGold?
Over the years, humans have caused a lot of damage to the planet with one main culprit being plastic pollution.
We produce approximately 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year and the vast majority of it ends up sitting in landfills. Since plastic doesn't decompose, this means that all of this plastic waste is still present in the environment in one form or another.
Fortunately, we have discovered one way to reduce this harmful practice. Through a process of collecting plastic bottles, recycling them and converting them into sustainable fibres known as Recron® GreenGold.
Is Recron® GreenGold a type of rPET?
Recron® GreenGold is a fibre that is made from 100% post-consumer waste PET bottles, i.e. plastic water bottles.
It's a specific type of rPET that has additional eco-friendly benefits and looks and feels like cotton.
It also boasts backward and forward traceability through tracers that are embedded into the fibres. This enables consumers to have full visibility as to the journey of the finished fabric to verify all sustainability claims and eradicating greenwashing.
This innovative and eco-friendly material was created by R|Elan™ Industries Limited.
Who are R|Elan™ Industries?
R|Elan™ Industries Limited are a company based in India that hold the title of the world's largest producer of polyester fibre and filament yarn. They have an impressive technology centre with 80 scientists and technologists who have worked tirelessly to create a range of advanced fabrics using recycled materials.
Outside of Recron® GreenGold, which falls under their eco-friendly range of fabrics, they have also created high performance fabrics that are great for activewear and aesthetic fabrics that work well for high fashion apparel.
They also developed a more specific type of Recron® known as GreenGold Ocean which is a fibre made entirely from ocean bound plastic.
This re-routes plastic waste that would have otherwise ended up in the ocean and give it a new life by converting into a fibre that can be used to make a wide range of textiles.
How are Recron® GreenGold fibres made?
The process used to make Recron® GreenGold fibres is simple and can be broken down into three steps.
Waste PET bottles are collected across India by local vendors and through an initiative launched by R|Elan™ to promote the recycling of PET bottles through the use of reverse vending machines.
Following this, the bottles are taken to a recycling facility where they are ground up into small flakes, washed and dried. This is also the stage at which the GreenGold tracers are added.
Finally, the small flakes are then chopped down into pellets, melted and stretched into string-like fibres.
These fibres can be spun together to create Recron® GreenGold yarn which is what we use to create our latest collection of recycled bags.
This entire process is known as a closed-loop production where waste material is upcycled, recycled or reused to keep it out of landfills and in circulation.
In this case, the waste are the plastic bottles which are being recycled to make an eco-friendly material that can continue to be recycled again and again after its useful life.
Why is Recron® GreenGold sustainable?
Recron® GreenGold boasts plenty of eco-credentials and it is a fibre with one of the lowest carbon footprints.
It all begins at the very source material, which is recycled plastic waste, right through to the finished product which can then be recycled itself.
Even the production process is highly sustainable thanks to a concept known as zero waste management.
This ensures there is no waste at any stage of the production process whether that means using renewable, solar energy or recycling approximately 90% of the water that is used.
Furthermore, this process is entirely free of any harmful chemicals.
Our Recron® GreenGold bags
We are proud to be working in partnership with R|Elan™ Industries Limited to bring you our latest collection of rPET bags.
This range includes five brilliant sustainable bags, such as a classic recycled PET tote and a recycled PET drawstring pouch, that are all made from 100% recycled plastic bottles yet look and feel like cotton.
They are the perfect eco-friendly replacement to harmful single-use plastic bags and contribute to a circular economy that keeps plastic out of landfills and in continued use.
