The sweatshirt, which is partially made from worn-out Fristads garments, is part of an innovative approach to reduce waste and minimise the need for virgin materials.

Fristads says the current workwear market faces issues with unsustainable practices, with traditional workwear often having a short shelf life, with items such as sweaters only being worn for a few months until they diminish in quality and must be thrown out, with 98% of them ending up in landfill.

The company says its journey to sustainable workwear began with one question: how can it extend the life of its garments and reduce their environmental footprint?

It was this idea that led to the development of the circular sweatshirt, which is composed of 15% closed-loop fibres derived from recycled Fristads garments.

David Snelling, Managing Director of Fristads UK and Ireland, explained: "The production of our circular sweatshirt involves several stages. Collected worn-out garments are first mechanically shredded and further deconstructed (without the use of chemicals) then spun with some virgin fibre to create yarn. This yarn is woven into new fabric, which is used to manufacture new garments. This process not only conserves resources, but also ensures high-quality standards are maintained."

Each circular garment comes with a third party-verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) which details how the environmental footprint is reduced by using recycled fibres.

"Our goal is to increase the proportion of closed-loop fibres in our products over time," added David. "We are continuously innovating to enhance our recycling processes and develop new sustainable products. This is just the beginning of our journey towards a fully sustainable workwear range.”

This is how the process of closing the loop looks, step by step:

• Collecting used workwear. Worn-out Fristads garments are collected from the customer and are sorted at a selected recycling partner
• Preparation of material. The material is prepared by being shredded into smaller pieces and turned into fibres
• Making the yarn. The fibres are mixed with other fibres to make yarn, consisting of 15% closed-loop content
• Creating new material. The yarn is used to make new fabric
• Making the final product. The fabric is turned into new products, partially made from used workwear.

Looking ahead, Fristads is committed to expanding its sustainable product range, with its recycling model, which was initially launched in the Dutch market, serving as a blueprint for scaling up circular production across all markets.

www.fristads.com

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