Generation of large quantities of textile waste is a major issue in most parts of the world. Promoting recycled clothes to the fashion market is a challenge while maintaining quality standards.

As one of the world's top fashion retailers, ASOS wanted to contribute in sustainability by increasing its use of recycled fibre in its products, specifically its menswear and womenswear denim. Thus, from March 2017 to December 2018, the company implemented a pilot project with support from the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP) - a project part funded by the EU LIFE programme which aims to achieve waste prevention, a reduction in water and energy use, and a reduction in CO2 emissions in the textile chain using Fibre-to-Fibre pilots.

For the pilot, ASOS first focused on denim products accross womenswear and menswear. Then, they engage with their denim suppliers to help them source and develop recycled yarns that are compatible with their existing production. Engaging with these suppliers encourage the use of recycled fibres and improve their expertise with yarn spinning techniques.

Not only that, ASOS also joined the Alliance for Responsible Denim (ARD). This allows ASOS to collaborate with the other like-minded brands, increase its post-consumer content in ASOS’ denim, as well as unlock value and potential within circular approaches.

They also partnered with The Recycle Movement's (REMO)'s REMOkey to add REMO labels to its jeans, which include a QR code customers can scan to find exact information about the percentage of recycled content included in the item and its resulting environmental savings.

Through the pilot, ASOS has successfully increased its use of recycled content from 7% to 20% for its ASOS Design jeans. A mix of pre-and post-consumer denim was used, and recycled fibres were blended with virgin cotton, including certified Cotton Made in Africa.

The pilot also achieved the following estimated environmental savings in 2017: water savings of 7,694 m3, energy savings of 3,434 KWh, CO2 reduction of 13,978 Tonnes, and prevented the discard of an estimated 1.1 tonnes textile to landfills.

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