What do you do with old corporate clothing? From textile waste to value

Workwear wears out over time, becomes outdated, or no longer fits your brand due to rebranding. Before you know it, there is a huge pile of textiles lying around doing nothing: old jackets, polo shirts, or safety clothing, often still featuring logos. What should you do with it, we hear you thinking?

As far as we are concerned, reuse is always preferred. Perhaps some of the workwear can be repaired or redeployed as spare clothing. But what do you do with clothing that is no longer suitable for that? Donating is not always possible either, for example due to logos, recognizable corporate colors, or specific safety features. Yet, decommissioned workwear does not have to become waste. The textile can be a raw material for new material.

Old workwear is not waste (but raw material)

What many companies do not know: worn-out workwear is actually a valuable raw material. Yet, a large portion of the textile still ends up on the rubbish heap or in the incinerator. A waste, because materials, energy, and potential are lost in the process.

By recycling workwear:

• You reduce the amount of textile that ends up as waste
• You preserve raw materials for longer
• The material can be processed into new applications

This way, textiles that can no longer be used as clothing can still retain value.

Why reuse is often not an option

Workwear often cannot simply be reused. Sometimes the clothing is worn out or damaged, but logos, recognizable corporate colors, and safety features can also limit reuse or donation. In addition, workwear often consists of different materials.

Is reuse no longer possible? Then recycling can be a next step. At i-did, we examine whether the textile can be processed into fibers and subsequently into new felt.

Which workwear can be processed?

Workwear almost never consists of a single material. Cotton, polyester, and other fibers are combined. In our i-did Factory, we can process these mixed textile streams.

Whether your workwear is actually suitable for making new felt is investigated first. We test the material and look at what composition is possible. This way, we know what we can make with your textiles before production starts.

From old workwear to new material

At i-did, we process decommissioned workwear into fibers. From these fibers, we make new felt in our own Factory in The Hague. The result is you-felt: felt in which the original corporate textile is reused as raw material.

What was once a jacket, for example, becomes:

• Wall covering

• An acoustic wall panel

• A gift for business associates and employees

This way, textile waste becomes part of your story.

More than recycling: visible impact

By processing decommissioned workwear into new felt, the material remains visible within the organization. The felt can, for example, reappear in the interior or in products for employees and business associates.

At i-did, this processing also has a social side. In our Factory and our workshop, we create work for people who have not worked for a long time or never at all. This way, a you-felt project combines the reuse of corporate textiles with social impact.

How does recycling workwear work?

The process is surprisingly concrete:

1. A you-felt project starts with an intake. We discuss which textiles are involved, how much material is available, and what you want to do with it.
2. Next, we test the textile. We investigate how the material can be fiberized and which composition is suitable for turning it into new felt. Based on that, we can show you what is possible with your textiles.
3. Is the test successful? Then we coordinate the required amount of textile and the production. The corporate textile is processed into fibers and subsequently into new felt. That felt can be applied as material on a roll or processed into acoustic interior products and lifestyle products.
4. The production of the felt takes place in our own Factory in The Hague.

Everything happens locally in The Hague: transparent and tangible. Read here how recycling workwear works at i-did.

What does it yield for your organization?

With a you-felt project, you give decommissioned workwear a new application. Instead of just disposing of the textile, the material can visibly reappear within your own organization.

Think, for example, of felt for the interior, acoustic products, or products for employees and business associates. This way, it becomes visible to employees, customers, and visitors what has happened to the old corporate textile.

A you-felt project can also contribute to your sustainability goals and provide relevant information for ESG and sustainability reports. Consider insights into the amount of processed textile and the sustainable and social impact realized through it. For organizations working with CSRD or other sustainability reports, such data can be relevant.

Organizations such as the Ministry of Defence, Cortina, KLM, and the Efteling have already preceded you.

What can we make from your old workwear?

That starts with the textile itself. Through a test, we investigate whether your decommissioned workwear is suitable for processing into new felt and what possibilities the material offers.

The felt can subsequently reappear as felt on a roll, in an acoustic application, or in a product for employees or business associates.

Curious about what is possible with your workwear?

View our you-felt page or contact us. We are happy to think along with you.