Why I:CO

I consume is the precursor to I collect.

The planet suffers from mass production and mass consumption of clothing and textiles.  The volume of globally discarded recyclable clothing is staggering.  Germany alone disposes of more than 300,000 tons of used clothing and shoes each year.

Once past their initial wear cycle, billions of tonnes of apparel and shoes could easily be repurposed into raw materials or second-phase wearable clothing to consumers in challenged economies. 
Repurposed clothing and shoes is not only an economically but also an environmentally-friendly retail alternative.  When items are no longer wearable, I:CO transforms unusable clothing into industrial products ranging from cleaning cloth, paper, insulation, carpet underlay, surface covering and textile fibres. 

Recycling preserves our resources, reduces rubbish, creates and protects jobs.

Soon, a shift in global consciousness will force us all to make decisions based on the direct effect our actions have on the carbon footprint we leave behind.

check out this video by Eli Pollak

A few interesting facts:

• The production of one new t-shirt uses between 10.000 and 30.000 litres of water and produces between 1.5 to 3.5 Kgs. of CO². The recycling process reduces these numbers by up to 95%.
• With the re-use of recovered materials in manufacturing processes or in consumption cycles, there is a strong decrease of CO² emissions compared to the production of new materials. By collecting 1Kg. of used clothing, one can reduce:
  • 3.5Kgs. of CO² emissions
  • 6000l of water consumption
  • 0.3Kgs. of the use of fertilizers
  • 0.2Kgs. of the use of pesticides
• “The ‘Cradle to Cradle’ method of production is in direct contrast to ‘Cradle to Grave’…with ‘Cradle to Cradle’, as in nature, there is no such thing as waste, no having to do without, no limitations.” – Dr. Braungart, EPEA International Environmental Research, Hamburg, Germany