When Less is More: The Durability & Reusability - sportstextiles: Lea SportsTextiles

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Feeling good in clothing often translates to better performance. A new business outfit that fits just right can give a boost of confidence during a presentation; athletic wear that is comfortable and breathable can help make a workout more effective; and tough, outdoor wear that is strong and movable can aid in getting a project done ahead of schedule.  

For whatever element of life, cotton has always been a fabric you can count on. According to a recent survey from Cotton Incorporated, a majority of consumers describe products made with cotton as comfortable, functional, high quality, and durable. Its innate durability creates long-lasting pieces of clothing that are comfortable and often resistant to extreme wear and tear, vital qualities that many consumers are looking for when they shop for clothing.1 

In recent years, “feeling good” about your clothing has also become aligned with knowing that what you’re wearing is sustainably sourced. In fact, sustainable consumption among consumers is heavily on the rise.2  A growing number of shoppers are looking for fewer items of clothing that are more durable, even if those items are more expensive – a true “less is more” mentality.1 Consumers know that longer lasting also means better for the environment, and if not long-lasting, they want their clothing items to be recyclable.1 Many clothing and fabric manufacturers are now taking note as many shoppers are ready to overcome “durability neglect” and invest in classic, long-lasting pieces, often for the benefit of the greater good.2

Durability Matters

One way in which brands and retailers can harness cotton’s natural environmentally friendly qualities is through durability. A more durable, longer-lasting product will less often have to be replaced, which can in turn decrease the need to toss an item and further take up  space in a landfill. Attributes of a longer lasting clothing product often include resistance to tearing, holes and snags, and less color fading. The cotton industry is always looking for methods to further enhance the durability of its fiber. Cotton Incorporated’s TOUGH COTTON™ technology is a prime example. This proprietary blend of softeners and crosslinking agents is applied in yarn and fabric form to protect the life of the garment while preventing a large amount of degradation, increasing the strength of the garment, enhancing resistance to abrasions, and increasing colorfastness.3 The TOUGH COTTON™ application is proven to create wovens that are eight times better at abrasion resistance, knits that are four times better at abrasion resistance, and fabrics that have an overall improvement of 56 percent in tear strength.4

Additionally, Cotton Incorporated has collaborated with a variety of other fiber manufacturers to design fabrics with an increased ability to resist rips, tears and holes, in addition to other qualities that will stand up to the demands of daily life. One result is INVISTA’s CORDURA® branded fabrics, which can be constructed with cotton to create a comfortable cotton-rich fabric with additional strength and durability suitable for active, outdoor, and workwear needs. The combination of cotton and nylon provides resistance to abrasion and minimizes wear for activewear, outdoor-wear, workwear and adventure-wear that is strong and long-lasting.4  The high-strength, low-density Dyneema® is another example. This polyethylene substrate can be blended with cotton to maintain comfort and softness while increasing strength and durability and creating a new level of protection against rips, tears and punch-throughs.4 
 
Cotton durability can also serve to address sustainability when clothing is handed down to a second owner and given a new life. This is important considering that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 17 million tons of textile waste were generated in 2018, and of that number, 11.3 million tons went to landfills.5 Well-made, durable cotton garments can be resold through the second-hand market. According to a global study conducted by the Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporated (June 2020), 55 percent of all consumers have purchased second-hand clothes, and of the remaining 45 percent, one-third said they plan to do so in the future.5
 
Recycling Gives Cotton Products a New Purpose

Even the most durable clothing eventually comes to the end of its life – at least, its first life. Cotton products can also be given new life when they are recycled, whether into new garments and blended with virgin cotton or other fibers or  into low-grade textile products, such as insulation, mop heads, rags, and stuffing. For the latter process, cotton fabric is converted into cotton fiber, mostly before consumer use or when scraps of yarn and fabric by-products are leftover during manufacturing.7 Recycling cotton products is another way to redirect them away from the landfills, and the value of this process is not lost on consumers. In fact, 32 percent of consumers who plan on purchasing clothing or home textiles say they will look for “recycled” clothing, and 24 percent say they are willing to pay more for these recycled products, according to Cotton Incorporated’s recent Lifestyle Monitor™ research.7

Lastly, Cotton Incorporated takes sustainability and reusability personally. Through its Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program–where consumers can mail in their old denim to be recycled into products like building insulation and thermal insulation for food and pharmaceutical packaging–the program has diverted over 2,100 tons of textile waste, specifically high-cotton content denim, from landfills since its fruition in 2006.

Durability & Sustainability Go Hand-in-Hand

The cotton industry is proud to be facing sustainability issues head on, facilitating the creation of more durable cotton clothing products that last longer through the first intended use and beyond. Connecting with brands and consumers over the common goal of helping to improve the health of our planet feels good across the board. To learn more about cotton’s sustainability story and how you can leverage it for your own brand and consumers, visit cottonworks.com/sustainability.

Sources

1. Why Brands Should Focus on Durability Aspect of Sustainability – Sourcing Journal 
https://sourcingjournal.com/topics/lifestyle-monitor/durability-sustainability-apparel-cotton-inc-mckinsey-state-of-fashion-thredup-329196/ 
2. Buy Less, Buy Luxury: Helping Consumers Adopt a Sustainable Fashion Philosophy – American Marketing Association 
https://www.ama.org/2021/04/06/buy-less-buy-luxury-helping-consumers-adopt-a-sustainable-fashion-philosophy/ 
3. TOUGH COTTON™ Technology – CottonWorks.com 
https://www.cottonworks.com/en/topics/fabric-technology/performance-technologies/tough-cotton-technology/ 
4. Durability – CottonWorks.com
https://www.cottonworks.com/en/topics/fabric-technology/performance-technologies/durability/
5. Fashion & Clothing Durability: What’s Crucial in the Resale Market – Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™
https://lifestylemonitor.cottoninc.com/fashion-clothing-durability/  
6. Cotton’s Circular Lifecycle (brochure) – Cotton Incorporated
https://www.cottonworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cotton-Circularity_Final.pdf 
7. Recycled Cotton – CottonWorks.com
https://www.cottonworks.com/en/topics/sustainability/cotton-sustainability/recycled-cotton/ 



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