Upcycled Sweaters Are A Hit On The Promotional Market

A single eco-friendly sweater prevents the waste of 4 850 litres of water Using sustainable materials is becoming a trend in the promotional merchandise industry, as companies worldwide are trying to find new ways to impress their clients, business partners and employees with ecofriendly textile products that represent their corporate social responsibility efforts. As Christmas is knocking on the door, managers and HRs are more interested in themed sweaters, beanies and scarves made with upcycled cotton. A single sweater made with upcycled yarn can prevent the waste of 4850 litres of water, says Robert Armour, Managing Director of Kingly Ltd. The European-based textile company specializes in producing promotional socks, full-custom bespoke clothing and creative garment packaging The environmental savings are calculated with an algorithm which can determine the energy and harmful CO₂ emissions savings, as well as the space that was prevented from turning into a land field with textile wastage. For instance, with 650 grams of upcycled yarn that is used for the creation of one upcycled sweater Kingly Ltd. can prevent the waste of 4.85 m3 water or 4 850 litres of water. That way by producing 1000 upcycled sweaters the company saves 4,851.28 m3 of water, 18.2000 MW/h of energy, 0.3673 tons of pollutants, 7.4100 tons of CO₂ emissions and prevents 808.28 m2 of land being turned into a textile land fiend. “I know that the whole world loves “fast fashion”. However, we see upcycling as a very positive trend for promotional market. We produce for companies like Samsung, Coca Cola, Michelin, etc. These are companies that have incorporated eco-sustainability in their corporate social responsibility objectives. Currently, upcycling is a lot more important for Business to Business than it is on a retail level”, says Rob Armour. According to WWF the amount of water needed to produce one kilogram of cotton which is the equivalent to a single t-shirt or a pair of jeans is 20 000 litres. Moreover, upcycling is better than recycling textile wastage to reduce the environmental blueprint – no additional water or chemicals are used to create the yarn. “Recycling is very good because it uses textile that has already been produced. But what other companies don’t like to say is that recycled waste is subjected to a new manufacturing process whereby thousands of litres of water and chemicals are going to be used all over again to produce something new“, Armour explains. Kingly Ltd. was awarded the Promotional Gift Award 2020 for creating upcycled socks that are packed in self-sealed compostable bags. The company uses plasticizer-free and GMO-free thermoplastic material based on natural potato starch for their packs. Once disposed of, the bags breakdown in approximately 8 weeks. During the pandemic the company also introduced a new line of cosmetics and hygiene products. As a result, during the months from March through to August 2020 the company’s turnover has increased by 150%.

For more information on Upcycled Sweaters Are A Hit On The Promotional Market talk to KINGLY LTD