Kleiderly

We have been entirely bootstrapped since we started therefore this prize money would go to great use to help us with the next steps. This would include:

• Production

  • We have 5,000kg of textiles in our warehouse, waiting to be recycled into our material. Hence we would carry out a large batch production run of our material. 

  • We would test the creation of new products from our material, for example chairs or suitcase shells.

  • Extensive material testing: we have replaced polystyrene in hangers, ABS plastic in tags and acetate in eyewear, but we want to continue rigorous R&D to see the limitations of the material. 

• Team

  • Being bootstrapped, we have been lucky enough to get the support of many young students who also care about fashion waste. We would like to reimburse them for their efforts and get a full team on board to support us. 

  • This would include expertise in product design, textiles recycling, marketing, PR and more. 

• Legal

  • We have filed the patent and the European patent office said that we have 3 inventive steps in our process and could effectively file 3 patents. Hence we need legal support to file the patents correctly.

I have always had a personal focus on sustainability, being passionate about this from a young age, I went on to become a Chemical Engineer to make the world a greener place. I worked for over 7 years, recycling household waste into energy, or designing a factory that turns coffee waste to biofuels. 

However my journey into entrepreneurship all started with a trip to Tanzania. Having worked in the waste sector for a while, and visiting many different sites where waste is collected or recycled, I hadn’t seen textile waste firsthand. During this trip, I saw used clothing being sold on second hand markets, and it got me thinking about what happens to textiles end-of-life. I was shocked to learn that 87% of all material used for clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators. I’ve made it my mission to solve this problem with Kleiderly.

My goal for the future is to enable a world where resources are not wasted, and we re-use ‘waste’ in a circular economy, whilst creating fair supply chains. If the EU were to incorporate a circular economy, we could halve carbon emissions by 2030, and this is my personal mission. 

87% of all material used for clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators. After seeing textile waste firsthand in Tanzania, I realised how big this problem is. Every second, a truck of textiles goes to landfill. We produce 100 billion garments a year, whilst the average lifetime of an item of clothing is below 2.5 years.

We know of the issues of plastic pollution, but rarely are we told about fashion pollution. Fashion waste is plastic pollution because 85% of our textiles contain synthetic fibres. It cannot biodegrade, and sits around in landfills for over 200 years, leaching toxic dyes into the soil and contaminating water supplies. 

Currently, developed countries ship their waste to developing countries to get rid of it. They receive so much that they have to burn or dump it on the street. It’s no wonder that they no longer want our waste - there’s too much of it! 

At this present moment, there is limited technology available to recycle or upcycle garments into new fabrics or products. Particularly because most fabrics are blends of fibres, hence fibre to fibre recycling proves difficult for these blends. 

It is about time that this huge environmental problem is solved. 

We solve this problem with our patent pending solution, turning unwanted textiles into a plastic alternative, hence replacing plastics derived from crude oil. This solves two environmental problems at once. 

Our material can be seamlessly used in existing plastics machinery to produce anything from clothing hangers (replacing polystyrene) to security tags (replacing ABS), to eyewear (replacing acetate), creating a truly circular fashion industry. We are starting with products used in fashion, but this is just the beginning. Our material can also be used in furniture, or even packaging. At the end of its life, it is recyclable multiple times. 

We can recycle blends containing polyester, cotton, viscose and elastane. This is our USP and difficult for traditional recycling. We can recycle 85% of all the fabrics used, including offcuts from clothing production, or even used clothing. We collect textiles from local charities and fashion retailers. 

Our material has a lower melting point than traditional plastics, hence there are energy savings. It is 47% more durable than polypropylene and has a carbon footprint of 85% less. 

If Europe were to incorporate a circular economy, we could halve carbon emissions by 2030. Our vision is to create a circular fashion industry. 

Textiles in landfills is one of the worst polluters, producing 445kgCO2 equivalent per tonne of clothing. Clothing is made of plastic so it takes 200 years to decompose. By diverting this waste to our process (which produces 67kg CO2 equivalent per tonne of clothing), we save 85% of CO2 equivalent emissions. 

It is vital to us that the fashion industry pays garment workers fairly, and we want to contribute to this by working with local charities in Bangladesh to support garment workers and their families. So every sale that we make, we will donate 10% to this charity.

We are enabling the fashion industry to make a real difference, by recycling their unsold goods, defective goods, offcuts or even used clothing. We also give them a possibility to replace their plastics.

The fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon emissions. It is vital to us that we educate our community to really make a difference. We can only do so by helping them to understand their consumption habits or the fabrics they wear. Hence we have an  online magazine as well as our social channels where we continue to share content to help consumers better understand the world of fashion.