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In September, David Luke announced that it would be partnering with the Circular Textiles Foundation to design and manufacture the first fully recyclable school blazer.
Now the schoolwear manufacturer has released more details on what retailers can expect from the new circular blazer when it launches in spring 2023.
Ryan Cooke, product manager at David Luke has been overseeing the design for circularity process from the outset.
He said: “Working in collaboration with the Circular Textiles Foundation (CTF) we have been reviewing the design and make-up of our iconic eco-blazer to identify the steps we need to take to make it a circular garment.
“In order to manufacture circular garments, we need to design clothes which are made to be remade while ensuring the price of the garment doesn’t change. Consultation from the CTF and Project Plan B has enabled us to transition our blazers into mono-fabric recyclable garments, compatible with thermo-mechanical recycling processes.”
The process has been underway since September 2022 and the first fully recyclable, circular blazers are now in production and will cost the same as the existing eco-blazer range. Designing for circularity will see David Luke’s bestselling eco-blazer reimagined in five subtle but critical ways to ensure it is suitable for the recycling process when it reaches the end of its life.
Mr Cooke added: “The key areas of the school blazer that we needed to rethink or remove were the lining, swing ticket, brand label, zippers and pockets. The new circular blazer will appear unchanged at first glance, but the impact of these changes will enable the garment to be fully recyclable.
“At the end of life we feed the blazers into a thermo mechanical recycling machine which converts the fabric into PET pellets. At this point PET pellets move into conventional manufacturing, supporting the circular principle of keeping raw materials at their highest possible value in the manufacturing chain.”
