McDonald's 85,000 employees in Britain are set to get a makeover this summer. When the 2012 Olympic Games open in London, McDonald's staff will be sporting new uniforms designed by Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway (for Worn Again), the husband and wife behind London fashion label Red or Dead.
Upcycling design brand Worn Again have a long term partnership with McDonald's to introduce a closed loop system of recycling their uniforms. McDonald's were the first company in the UK to commit to the closed loop system. They could soon be followed by National Grid and Marks and Spencer. Virgin Atlantic, Royal Mail and Eurostar have already joined forces with Worn Again for upcycled products.
Closed loop production is a manufacturing model that incorporates returned products as a part of the supply chain. The manufacturer takes responsibility of the product once the products become obsolete; the manufacturer reclaim (to reuse) what they had distributed. The reclaimed items will usually be reused, recycled or upcycled into another product, thus creating a loop. The closed loop system deters the used products ending up in landfills, preventing waste, devising a more sustainable design life-cycle.
"Closed-loop production is a big deal, and a very, very important area for the future," ~ Nabil Nasr, director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology. "What's driving the growth is the realisation among manufacturers that there won't be enough raw materials to meet the increasing demand for consumer goods in developing economies in the future. The rising price of oil - one of the main components of polyester - is also sparking interest in the new production method."
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In Britain alone, 33.4 million uniforms are purchased each year and less than 5% of them are recycled.
The closed loop system will ensure the percentage of (uniform) recycling increases dramatically, promoting sustainable production lines and preventing 'waste' to landfill.
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Worn Again has only just begun to bring together a network of companies committed to using closed-loop uniforms, but Rhoades is already looking ahead. "The high street is the next big step. Ultimately, we need to move into the consumer market."
There are also other obstacles, such as the fact that the recycling of natural fibers, as well as blends of natural and synthetic materials, isn't technologically possible at the moment. "That's our holy grail, finding ways to close-loop natural fibers." - Rhoades
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| Remade: Virgin Atlantic's old economy class seat covers |
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| Remade: Royal Mail's decommissioned storm jackets |
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| Decommissioned Eurostar uniforms upcycled into Eurostar bags |
Why Upcycle?
“The combined waste from clothing and textiles in the UK is about 2.35 million tonnes, 13% going to material recovery (about 300 thousand tonnes), 13% to incineration and 74% (1.8 million tonnes) to landfill.” - University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing
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| Worn Again |
I must admit I was a little skeptical upon hearing McDonald's to be the first corporation to take on closed loop production, although skepticism aside, the benefits of no textiles going to landfill do not lie. The bigger the corporation that Worn Again work with, the more people who will get to witness their advancements. It's encouraging to see such gargantuan companies participating in greener values. Worn Again are lessening the environmental impact for the end phase of product use; waste doesn't have to be waste.
McDonald's/Worn Again Press Release
