Image Wear and Pirkanmaan kierrätys ja työtoiminta ry have begun cooperation in utilizing decommissioned workwear through reuse. Even though workwear is decommissioned, it is not always yet at the end of its life cycle. When a company's workwear look changes or an employee leaves, the employer is left with garments that someone else could still make use of.
The reuse center sells the reusable products
If a garment has a company logo or is otherwise unsuitable for sale, the reuse center delivers them in minimum batches of 1000 kg to Image Wear's Lieto location to be baled. From Lieto the garments leave in 10,000 kg recycling batches to a partner that makes Cliff® recycled composite products from them.
Logo-free products suitable for reuse are donated to the reuse center for sale. The reuse center sells them in the Löytökellari opened in spring 2023 in the basement of its Nekala location.
Pirkanmaan Kierrätyskeskus project coordinator Jari Hakala is excited about the project: "This is a great pilot project, and I hope this succeeds. I am excited when products – whether textiles, workwear or other goods – are put to reuse.
In reuse, products can be utilized 100 %, and it also shows in the carbon footprint. Recycling into new materials and products is a fine thing too, but the efficiency is lower compared to reusing the product.