Looop: The H&M In-Store Recycling Machine That Turns Old Clothes Into New Threads
Tags: opinion
While many industries are embracing recycling and upcycling, the fashion industry has not appeared to be too keen on it. But now, some of the major fashion brands are coming on board. One of the most popular labels from Europe, H&M has established the first-ever in-store shredder and knitter machine called Looop to tackle recycling.
Looop shreds old clothes into component fibers. Then it cleans them and presses them to turn them into long fibers. These are then weaved into yarns, which are turned into new garments. Looop was built by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) in collaboration with the non-profit H&M Foundation. H&M put up a statement where they mentioned how in order to fight climate change, one has to change current fashion trends and methods.
Looop To Save The Environment?
https://youtu.be/lxRDGSft2wI
An analysis from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says waste from the fashion industry makes up 5% of our landfills. It also produces 10% of the country’s methane emissions.
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Looop requires no additional water or dyes for the new fibers. Eight machines are put up like an assembly line to carry out the process. The whole setup can be sold as 40-foot long equipment. It can be shipped anywhere in the world in an average shipping container.
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Currently, the first Looop resides at Drottninggatan 56 in Stockholm, Sweden. But any fashion brand can take up this technology to recycle their garments and other cloth products.
“It’s a reminder to treat all clothes as a resource. Nothing’s too tattered or torn to be recycled—and no clothes should ever end up in the trash.”
Hopefully, more and more fashion brands will follow suit and get similar machines and programs into place. Sustainable fashion is the only way forward if we have any chance of tackling climate change.
Image Featured: H&M
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