circularity

textiles 2030

Taking action on climate change, together.

In 2021, we joined WRAP’s Textiles 2030, an initiative that’s helping most of the UK’s fashion and textiles organisations to take action on climate change, together. These are the 2030 targets we’ve committed to, using 2019 figures as a baseline.

carbon

We commit to reduce the aggregate greenhouse gas footprint of our new products by 50% by 2030. This includes the impact from their manufacture and distribution.

Our preferred materials strategy and commitment to increasing our use of renewable and recycled materials will help us to reach this target. You can find out more about this here.

water

We commit to reduce the aggregate water footprint of new products sold by 30% by 2030.

One way we’re reducing how much freshwater our new products need is by replacing new materials with recycled ones.

We’re also taking on more sustainable dyeing processes that use less water and fewer chemicals. One of these techniques is called dope dyeing, which we use in our bestselling Vital Seamless range.

How we are tackling our water footprint

We use dope dyeing technology in our Vital Seamless range because it has a lower environmental impact than traditional dyeing methods. How? Let’s find out.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM CONVENTIONAL DYEING TECHNIQUES?

In traditional dyeing processes, the clothes are created and then they’re dyed by dipping them in solutions of water and chemicals. This means a large amount of water is used. The water then needs to be treated and purified to get rid of the chemicals before it’s released into the environment.

In dope dyeing, the yarns are dyed before they’re made into clothes. The colour pigment is embedded through pellets directly into the yarn and the pre-coloured yarn is then made into fabric. This saves loads of water and energy by turning several steps into just one.

IS DOPE DYEING A LOWER QUALITY DYEING TECHNIQUE?

It’s actually the opposite. We’ve tested the products and found that when they’re dope dyed, they offer better support and have better sweat-wicking abilities. Better yet, it’s proven that the fabric is more durable, too. The colour is more resistant to light, washing and crocking (rubbing) because the pigment is bound to the actual fibres, which means the fabric hasn’t had to go through different chemical solutions. It’s a win-win-win. Win? We lost count. It’s good, anyway.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LOOK OF PRODUCTS DYED WITH DOPE DYEING?

Not a noticeable one, no. The main difference with the dope dyed Vital Seamless, for example, is the look of the marl. The difference is only very small, and this is just down to the nature of the dope dyed yarns.

WHY DON’T YOU USE DOPE DYEING FOR ALL OF YOUR RANGES?

At the moment, only one of our suppliers uses dope dyeing technology, so it would be really difficult to make all of our ranges exclusively through them. But we’re working to apply dope dyeing to more ranges.

WHAT NEXT?

We are hoping to expand dope dyeing to more collections. Unfortunately, dope dyeing means a more limited choice of colours and the shade effects can be more difficult to achieve, plus the process is only applicable to synthetic fibres. But, we’re keeping up the research and we’re working to use this tech more in the future.

circular economy

Before we get into our commitments, let’s take a look at what ‘circular economy’ actually means.

At the moment, our economy takes new resources, makes products, uses them, and then throws them away. This is what’s called a linear economy. It’s a straight line, starting with new resources and ending with waste.

A circular economy, on the other hand, is (you guessed it) a circle. It’s based on three ideas:

Designing products in a way that means they won’t end up as waste and won’t create waste while they’re being made.
Circulating products and resources to keep them in use as much as we can, and reusing and recycling them at their highest quality.
Regenerating nature to restore biodiversity and ecosystems that are affected by manufacturing.

So, what are we doing to help drive a circular economy, instead of a linear one?

We commit to help develop a roadmap for circular textiles in the UK by working with the other organisations involved with Textiles 2030.

By 2030 we will:

Develop and implement ways to design our products for a circular economy.
Set up partnerships to supply and use recycled fibres for new products, helping to close the loop on materials.

We’ve created a Gymshark clothing care guide to help your clothes last as long as possible. Take a look.

We also launched our collaboration with another Textiles 2030 member, Thrift+, in February 2022. This is a UK-based initiative that aims to help extend the life of clothing. You can send on your unwanted clothes and get the chance to earn back credits. Learn more here.

THRIFT+

SEND IT ON. EARN IT BACK*.

textile exchange

Helping the textile industry create a more sustainable future

Textile Exchange is a global non-profit that’s helping brands, retailers, manufactures, farmers, and others to drive positive action on climate change. They provide tools, resources, and initiatives to help members find the next step in their sustainability journey.

As well as collecting and publishing critical industry data and insights on materials, Textile Exchange has also developed leading industry standards that help the industry make changes for a more sustainable future.

So where does that leave us?

We joined Textile Exchange as part of our goal to wear more, waste less. We know we need to collaborate so we can help to transform the textile industry, together. We started reporting against our use of materials and our sustainability strategy in 2021.

We also take part in the Textile Exchange Material Change Index. In 2021 we received a Level 4 (Leading) in Cotton, and a Level 3 (Maturing) in Polyester and Nylon. Not sure what that means? You can find all the info on our scores here.

Finally, along with other brands, we joined the 2025 Recycled Polyester Challenge, where we’ve committed to use 100% recycled polyester by 2025.

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