Top List of Recycled T-Shirt Sites
August 14, 2008
The t-shirt industry or rather the t-shirt retailing industry (as opposed to a vast majority of the t-shirt manufacturing industry) has finally begun to fall in-line with many other markets in regards to our planet’s environmental issues and their own responsibility to help reduce its own impact on the future of our ecology. Apart from the positive publicity and pr recycled t-shirt sites have received over the last year, it also makes great economic sense for everyone concerned.
The economic and environmental costs of all raw materials is shooting up. Be it the oil crisis, ongoing natural disasters, levies on pollutants, war, or the growing demand from developing countries, more and more t-shirt companies are turning the tables and making positive gains both in public credibility (including fair trade issues) and price, by recycling/reclaiming cotton for t-shirts and promoting the fact as a key selling point to their customers.
Recycled t-shirts fall into two camps:
1. Recycled materials - technologies now exist to make new cotton yarn from fabric trimmings, mills ends and second-hand cotton, and even recycled plastic bottles for a nylon mix. The process involves cleaning, shredding and blending fibres together to create an extremely environmentally friendly alternative to mass cultivation of cotton crops.
2. Used and/or refashioned t-shirts - something looked down upon until very recently, it has now become fashionable amongst those seeking either environmental cachet, and/or the vintage t-shirt collectors market, which is still in its infancy right now, but I would expect to explode in the next few years. Everyone is now getting in on the game, including designers, charities, retailers and even some manufacturers (who obviously see the cost advantages in mass production of recycled products. Recently I read an article in The Times that reports a massive increase in both demand and profits generated by landfill mining ventures, I am sure this is a worldwide phenomenon, considering the steep rises in basic material costs. For the main part this involves siphoning off methane as a power source and reclaiming plastics, paper, and scrap metals for sale on the commodities markets. Recycling is becoming very big business - at last!
Even celebrities are getting in on the act, you can see a quick video of a few of US celebrities harping on here. On his recent tour, country music star (and husband to Nicole Kidman) Keith Urban ensured all of his merchandise was manufactured with reclaimed and recycled plastic bottles.
Plus of course the corporations are getting in on the act, including Coca-Cola, one of the main culprits in the mass production and consumption of bottled drinks. They offer a rather uninspiring range at their Coca-Cola store, though it hardly makes up for the waste already generated! If Coke really want to make a difference I’d advice they take a look back in history, they and many other drinks manufacturers used to create glass bottles rather than plastic, they even offered a small deposit for returning them. They’d boil wash them, fill them up and put them back on the shelves. Making glass is environmentally damaging, I agree, however once twenty or thirty customers have used a sterilised recycled bottle, I think we can agree the impact of the production process is redressed by continuous use. We have had until recently the same set-up in the UK, with most milk being sold in glass bottles which were delivered, collected, washed and re-used.
Here’s another nice piece of corporate damage limitation from Adidas - they’re offering recycled cotton t-shirts now.
I’ve researched and compiled a list of the most popular (and ethical) recycled cotton/t-shirt companies online and included both Google PR and Alexa rankings to give you some idea of their clout in the online world of t-shirts. Why not check them out and help the earth, snap up a bargain, pay back some karma, and if you’re lucky, make a real find and an investment for the future (but if you do come across a potential investment-worthy retro collectible don’t wear it!).
Ebay.com
|
Ebay.com - This must be the most obvious choice for most people, you can find all sorts of used and vintage goods here, I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but it’s always worth a reminder incase there’s a local seller with some recycled or refashioned tees in your area! There are many other auction and classifieds sites out there, but as this all depends on where you live, it’s not really worth listing them here, (besides I’d need a site as big as Google to list them!). Be careful when you search here though, there’s a band called ‘The Used‘ which offers quite a lot of cool merchandising, but obviously their t-shirts are new! I’ve featured a t-shirt I found at Ebay that’s on sale for only $7.99. It might not be to everyone’s tastes but it’s obvious this cost the original buyer far more than it will you
MonsterVintage.com
|
Monstervintage.com - An online vintage clothing store offering a rare selection of high quality and hard to find used t-shirts, with a massive selection of one-of-a-kind styles from every decade. They are stocked to the hilt with over 100 categories of vintage clothing and have a hefty t-shirt section here.
The prices vary wildly depending on the rarity of the item, I’ve spotted a few old Grateful Dead tour t-shirts as well as one old I assume very rare t-shirt for almost $200, I suspect that many of their tees are being treated as investments now. I don’t think I could ever spend that much, but then again I would have trouble keeping it wrapped, I’d want to wear it if I’d paid that much! Accidentally ecologically friendly!
AnvilKnitwear.com
|
AnvilKnitwear.com are offering a great range of recycled organic tees here, they offer a good range of colours too: Black - Heather - Red - Navy - Charcoal - Blue - Brown - Sand - Green.
They sell through international distributors (carbon footprint?) - available in the USA, Asia and Europe, but I am sure they don’t manufacture in all areas of the world which would be a massive step forward.
Teecycle.org
|
Teecycle.org is an old favourite of mine. One of my earliest posts ‘Don’t Recycle Teecycle!‘ featured their site, and I’ve even bought a few tees from over time including an original ‘Old School Homer’ tee and a ‘Clockwork Orange’ t-shirt. The great thing about Teecycle is that all of ther shirts are on sale for just $7 plus postage ($3 for USA). They encourage their customers to post their Teecycle photos at Flickr’s Show Us Your Teecycle! You can also join their Facebook Teecycle page. Tim and his wife scour the local rummage sales, thrift stores (in the UK that’d be boot fairs and junk and charity shops), and save abandoned classics from reaching the landfill. They go further than that, they donate $1 from every sale towards the River Revitalization Foundation project which is dedicated to restoring urban river trails and waterways in the Milwaukee area. Now that’s great Karma!
Re-Shirt.net
|
ClothesMadeFromScrap.com
|
ClothesMadeFromScrap.com/ - I misread the name when I visited this site - although it’d still be applicable. Their mission statement reads “Made From Scrap, Inc. is a company that is committed to protecting our environment. We manufacture and market a line of clothing and accessories made from recycled plastic soda bottles and reclaimed cotton”. They offer a 50/50 blend made from 50% ‘post consumer’ recycled plastic bottles (a polyester fabric) and 50% post industrial recycled cotton. They state that their shirts look and feel just like their non-recycled counterparts. I’d like to see a charitable aspect to their work, it would be nice if they at least joined One Percent for the Planet (As with Eco Gear), but you can’t have everything. One piece of advice, redesign that ugly site guys!
Eco-Gear.ca
|
Eco-Gear.ca - I’ve featured these guys before in my post ‘Three Cheers For Eco Gear!‘ a little while back, they’re a Canadian-based that creates organic fair trade low carbon footprint t-shirt ‘Ecofabric’ made from the leftover cuttings from local clothing factories. They also donate a percentage of their profits to various ecological causes including the World Wildlife Fund, using a unique system of ‘Dodo Bucks’ which every customer receives and can choose to donate to a charity or organisation of their choice.
Made in socially compliant factories in Toronto Canada, using 100% recycled fibres and all eco friendly inks and components, they guarantee that every t-shirt is made from at least 99% recycled materials! They are actively working on reducing their (already low) carbon footprint as far as possible as we speak! (Eco Gear are also members of One Percent for the Planet)
Recycled.ca
|
Recycled.ca - are offering wholesale 100% recycled tees (in white or gray) from just $7.52 each. Again they use 50% “Green” Spun Plastic Yarn, made from recycled clear plastic pop (soda) bottles, and 50% Post-industrial Cotton Fibre (scraps). It’s a little difficult to find their t-shirts so you can visit them quicker via t-shirts at recycled.ca
They print artwork ready designs in EPS and AI format, however I can’t seem to find any mention of water-based organic inks which seems a tad worrying. I wouldn’t like to think they go to all this trouble and then stumble at the last green hurdle. Once again not too pretty as far as website design or navigation goes, but decent prices considering the product.
I’m starting to suspect there’s some kind of tax incentive in Canada for eco-businesses, there do seem to be quite a few, I wonder if other governments couldn’t learn a thing or two from the Canadians?
Ekonoiz.com
|
Ekonoiz.com - Their designs are hand-printed to order with water soluble ink and can be printed onto organic cotton, plain cotton, hemp, bamboo, and recycled plastic bottle tees.
Their tee shirt suppliers have been carefully chosen for their product quality and ethical stance. As Eko Noiz mission statement shows they are serious in their intentions regarding fair trade and organic printing, they also offer “high-tech t-shirts are made from a 50% recycled plastic bottle fibre and 50% cotton mix.” The tees come in black, white, navy and royal blue. Sizes are S, M, L, XL.
Re-Stitch.com |
Re-Stitch.com - is another progressive t-shirt label, Re-Stitch essentially salvages reclaimed and scrapped clothing and redesigns, refashions and re-stiches every item it sells. I don’t particularly like the label and so I’m not sure how successful they’ll be. I’d rather they offered original one-off graphics screen-printed (organic) or embroidered on their used tees. Then again they do donate 8% from every shirt sold to charity currently MotherstoMothers (www.motherstomothers.net).
As their blurb states ‘when you help rescue a shirt, you: give to a good cause, recycle, and create an original piece of clothing.’ You can’t really say fairer than that.
Re-Stitch is currently running a campaign, “Buy 2 shirts, and they’ll send you 1 shirt for free to give away to someone in need.
T-Cycle.co.uk
|
T-Cycle.co.uk - takes a rather quirky angle on the whole recycled t-shirt idea. For a start they seem to be obsessed with bicycles which must limit their market considerably. Don’t get me wrong, I love cycling, it’s good for your health, free to travel, and fun when the weather’s on your site. But recycled t-shirts for cyclists? There’s niche marketing and then there’s microscopic.
I’d advise them to follow TeeCycle’s direction and aim at a wider ecological market and keep the cycle fanaticism on a blog. They do use recycled tees, either preloved or disposed stock and print their bike designs all over them. They say they’re the future of cycle fashion, I wish them all the best but I’m guessing they’ll come a cropper unless they broaden their horizons.
100PercentGreenTee.com
|
100PercentGreenTee.com - Deborah Daly, President & CEO of Sales Away Inc. and 100% Green Tee has been in the T-shirt industry for 26 years providing T-shirt designs for most of the National Parks and Zoos in the United States.
Her company also supplies Tees to many Fortune 500 companies printing their logowork. Her dream and hope is that in the next 5 years her business will be 100% percent organic & recycled Tees. All of her companies have been certified by Santa Clara County, California as a “Green Business”. Her recycled T-shirts are “50% Recycled Plastic Beverage Container and 50% Recycled Cotton”.
All of the tees at 100% Green Tee are available for wholesale with a minimum order of 72.
I know it’s somewhat of a diversion but I think I should give an honourable mention to some sites that offer carbon offsetting, i.e for each t-shirt sale they make they plant a tree.
http://www.recycledbusinessgifts.co.uk/recycledtshirts.htm
http://www.sansegal.com/greengarments.html
http://www.CarbonTeeshirt.com - Christopher Davies, the owner and Head Fashion Stylist of London based POA-Style also offers a green fashion business, CarbonTeeShirt.com. Davies has had over 10 years of experience working with celebrities like Gabriel Byrne, Alicia Silverstone, Billy Bob Thorton, and Parker Posey. Davies plans on using his celebrity crew to help promote his new t-shirt line and make the world a more environmentally fashionable place. CT produces a stylish and eco-friendly “Carbon Tee” using 100% organically grown cotton t-shirts , which are carbon reduced and which are climate neutral . The tee shirts are made as ethically as possible in climate neutral manufacturing facilities, using sustainable energy generated from solar power and wind power.
BAMBOO? Bamboo is the new craze in eco-fashion, its impact on the climate is limited due to the lack of hydration and speed of growth cycle. although I’m not sure how ecological this alternative would be in the long term.
http://www.onnotextiles.com/bamboo-t-shirts
http://www.ShirtsOfBamboo.com/T-Shirts
If any big apparel manufacturers, retailers, or corporations out there want to make a fast buck and still pull in heaps of green credentials, try offering t-shirt recycle bins at high street stores and malls, in my research I’ve seen so many posts requesting advice on this, people don’t want to throw their tees away, help them save the earth!
Before I forget check out this designer at Etsy who offers recycled long-sleeved tees for babies and toddlers.
Dressme shop at Etsy - if you’re looking for recycled baby clothes this should be your choice. They offer some fantastic home-made and most importantly recycled kids clothes, their long-sleeved t-shirts have to be seen; multi-coloured, near psychedelic tees made from scraps and salvaged materials.
The biography reads “Liesbeth Soeterbroek from Amsterdam. I started Dressme 3 years ago after my son was born (that’s him in the logo!) As a fashion designer I wanted to make unique clothes for him so I started to make fun clothes out of recycled fabrics.
Three years and hundreds of T-shirts and dresses later, I still love making clothes for babies and toddlers to wear and enjoy.”
One other option you might consider are charity stores which are available in most countries and help with a vast and wide variety of worthy causes. Some have even reinvented themselves over the last decade, such as many of UK’s Oxfam stores which have become increasingly trendy, especially in major cities. A great source for low-cost highly desirable retro and vintage t-shirts, without damaging the earth!
[...] Source: The Top 12 Recycled T-Shirt Sites at buy-tees.net [...]