Ganni makes 50% recycled yarn from its own waste
Copenhagen-based fashion brand Ganni has developed a 50% pre-consumer recycled cotton yarn using off-cuts generated by its own t-shirt production, part of an in-house project it expects will prevent 12 tonnes of cotton from being scrapped every year.
The remaining 50% of fibre content in the yarn, the result of more than 12 months of development and quality testing alongside supply partners, is GOTS-approved organic cotton.
Ganni, which launched new sublabel Ganni Sport only last month, already downcycles its off-cuts via various schemes, but now hopes to implement similar internal fibre-to-fibre recycling initiatives across additional materials and at other stages of production, it said.
“Fashion supply chains are immensely complex and opaque, so things like waste streams are often ignored,” commented co-founder Nicolaj Reffstrup, adding that there is a real need for brands to analyse and understand their manufacturing processes. He called the project a “small but majorly important improvement” that Ganni could feasibly roll out with more of its suppliers down the line.
Mr Reffstrup was himself an early investor in US cellulosic textile developer Rubi, which recently announced a further $8.7 million in funding from H&M Group, Collaborative Fund, Patagonia’s Tin Shed Ventures, plus more.
The label has previously collaborated with textile recycling innovators like Infinited Fiber Company and Renewcell, which makes its branded dissolving pulp Circulose from cotton-rich waste.
Other notable milestones include last summer’s zero-waste collection with Danish design studio Stem, plus the achievement of “100% traceability” from tiers one to four of its supply chain. Ganni also publishes a list of its stage one and two suppliers with the Open Supply Hub (formerly known as the Open Apparel Registry).
Tops made with the new, partly recycled, yarn will debut in May. Credit: Ganni.
