You might think of hand-me-downs or combining old garments creatively when you think of "recycled clothing", but it's also possible to turn old garments into brand-new ones.

If you’re a hiker, biker, skier or climber, you’re probably very familiar with Patagonia’s high-performance clothes as well as their outstanding record of environmental and social responsibility. They’re interested not just into what goes into their clothing - often organic cotton or recycled plastics - but what happens to it at the end of the line. As clothing consumption goes up, more of it ends up in the trash, or in inefficient reuse programs.

In 2005, Patagonia initiated its Common Threads recycling program for their Capilene base layer clothing to offset some of these end-of-life issues. Now they’ve expanded this voluntary program to include their own fleece products, Patagonia organic cotton t-shirts, and any other manufacturer’s Polartec fleece garments. Mail or drop off worn garments at Patagonia stores or service centers, and they use an innovative technology to reprocess the fiber and make new garments.

Learn more about the Common Threads program at Patagonia’s site, where you can also view their Footprint Chronicles, examining the lifecycle and environmental impact of five Patagonia products. The more I learn about how textiles are made and the garment industry, the more it becomes clear that designers, manufacturers and consumers all need to embrace new approaches. Recycling worn clothing effectively is a great place to begin.

Image: beestunglips