How do you decide that you want to dedicate all your time to building a company that saves worn and tired shirts?
Well, I'll tell you that. It's largely about a feeling.
Every time we unpack and sort these used, unsold t-shirts, there is a profound satisfaction. They come in, tattered, sagging. The fabric; usually washed, used. A little quirks, some deviation. But almost all of them have very, very much left to give.
After the shirt is washed and printed, we press it with steam and heat. The fibers in the fabric contract, and the whole shirt kind of breathes out. To me, it feels like it has regained its dignity. It becomes -truly- perfectly imperfect.
Well, you might be thinking. Sounds cute and nice. But what about the business part?
Sure, it's proven tough to do business in the #circulareconomy , and we often get receipts for that. Like the incredible textile recycling plant #Siptex in Malmö has all the capacity and technology to sort textiles so that industries can more easily reuse the material. But demand is fluctuating – the bales are waiting to be bought up.
Or that the fantastic #Nimblepatch , which has won several sustainability awards, is now going bankrupt – simply because the demand for patched jeans is not there. The big chains dared or did not want to invest in recycling.
OK - but does recycling really make that much of a difference to the environment, you might be wondering? The answer is yes.
Context from the #SwedishEnvironmentalProtection Agency ( https://www.naturvardsverket.se/amnesomraden/avfall/avfallslag/textilavfall/ ) :
A Swede currently consumes about 14 kg of newly produced clothing per year, 7 kg of which is thrown directly into the garbage bag – even though 40% of it is not broken or worn out. Doubling the usage time can reduce the climate impact by almost 50%.
The #SwedishEnvironmentInstitute ( https://www.ivl.se/press/pressmeddelanden/2025-01-17-ateranvandning-av-textil-viktigast-for-klimatet---oavsett-var-i-varlden-det-sker.html ) has conducted a new study comparing reuse, recycling and incineration. The result is clear – reuse has the lowest climate impact. The greatest environmental impact occurs during the actual production of clothing. The crucial thing is that the clothes have a longer life.
So the bottom line is: there are apparently still fools who, based on a feeling, are prepared to try to create a business out of something that is incredibly important and urgent – but demonstrably difficult?