Assess the scope of possibilities. Study and analyse the recycled materials market (See Tool 1) which is constantly evolving: the recycled polyester and cotton markets are today quite mature but new recycled materials are emerging. Find out about existing recycling practices (stages, processes, limits, …) as well as developing innovations (See Cheat Sheet: The end-of-life of textile products and footwear). Also analyse the competition (product type, material type, communication aspects).

Review all of the materials able to be replaced and list their specific uses in order to define the sourcing approach. For example, linings can be composed of 100% recycled materials with no impact on product design.

In certain product segments, recourse to recycled materials is already standard practice. For example, swimwear, which is majoritarily composed of polyamide, can be composed of 100% recycled materials.

In parallel, asking suppliers, and namely main material suppliers, about their recycled material offer can permit short-term opportunities to be more quickly targeted. In addition, get material providers and sourcing offices involved ; they may be able to scout the market at trade fairs or get quotes. Estimate target performances and volumes upstream in order to reserve quantities with suppliers in good time.

Put in place a recycled materials integration strategy.Define objectives (SMART : Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic, Trimeframe-defined) either relating to the proportion of recycled materials in your material mix or to the progressive conversion of some of your references or product ranges (for example, reach 50% recycled polyester and / or cotton within 3 years and over the same timeframe reach 100% recycled materials in bathwear and homewear).

Ensure that these objectives progress over time, with the development of recycled materials from used textiles and footwear for example or for the most ambitious among you, from your own end-of-life articles.

Promote the initiative internally and rally teams around a project: creation of a recycled materials library, propose a portfolio to designers. Draw up comparative templates setting out the environmental gains obtained by comparing a product made from virgin materials and a product made from 100% recycled materials.

Develop recourse to recycled material. Ensure the traceability of recycled material (origin, source of the deposit, pre-consumption or post-consumption, textile or non-textile) namely with the help of an environmental textile label (Global Recycled Standard and Cradle To Cradle for example) which guarantees the total traceability of recycled materials (See Tool 2).

Check the validity of supplier certificates and all of the transaction certificates between this material supplier and your manufacturer. In the event of checks, you will be asked to provide these two elements, meaning that rigorous documentary management must be put in place.

Compare the technical specificities of materials (composition, origin, type of recycling : chemical or mechanical) and the performances of your product in relation to a new product in order to keep the promise made to customers with respect to product quality. The best compromise will often be a mix between recycled materials and virgin materials.

For brands with the ambition of proposing an entire range of permanent products in recycled materials, select and standardise the components and materials in partnership with finished product suppliers.

Depending on your environmental strategy, communicate more or less visibly on your commitment to recycled materials, whilst respecting regulations on product labelling. For materials containing recycled fibres, it is preferable to only communicate on the product when it contains a significant proportion of recycled material and to adapt communication according to the recycled % contained in the product (See Tool 4) in order to ensure you are not taxed for greenwashing.

Open the scope of possibilities. For materials for which replacement is low or when supplier offers do not correspond to company expectations (in terms of design, quality or traceability), it remains possible, when the quantities so permit, to develop your own recycled material with your partners.

Lastly, it is also feasible to work with all of the players from the chain (collectors, recyclers, spinners) to develop a new material from used textiles and footwear, or even from the company's own end-of-life products. This requires a partnership with local collection points (or obliges you to carry out collection from customers). Once clothing is collected, sorted and selected per colour and composition, it will be shredded and reduced to fibre-state ready to be used for your new creations!