Eco Fashion World

Over the past few months, designers like Brazil’s Milena Hamaní, among others, have experimented with recycled bottles to create sustainable fashions. Textile companies have also become involved in the production of yarns using this material. And now, Swiss label Switcher will create part of its collection from recycled PET bottles.

When founder Robin Cornelius trademarked this clothing line in the early 1980s, he was hoping to go beyond the typical sweatshirts, rugby stripes and “symbols of American colleges” to produce solid-colored, comfortable and colorful polo shirts without slogans. His first collection included only two models: a T-shirt and a sweatshirt.

Over the past quarter of a century, Switcher has focused on creating fashions using ecological cotton. However, they’ve found through research that empty PET bottles are very efficient—over 90% of one can be used to make polyester yarns—and just 15 empty PET bottles are enough to make one PET jacket.

For its first collection with PET recycled bottles, Switcher will feature ten different made-for-winter products for both adults and children, including fleece jackets, gilets and toasty undershirts. A big draw to using PET bottles instead of organic cotton is that bottles can create a warmer, heavier material necessary for fleece jackets and cardigans.

The benefits of PET bottles are obvious, as the yarns made from recycled PET require less energy to produce than ordinary polyester yarns, and therefore have low energy use and water consumption. The process behind create this fashion includes empty PET bottles ground into small flakes, and then processed to obtain new polymers. Polyester chips are then made, which are used in the textile industry as the raw material for fibres and yarns.

We’re very much looking forward to Switcher’s new collection to keep us warm through the winter months!

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