I:CO NEWS 

To measure the effects of sustainable concepts on the environment, I:CO cooperates with the Swiss initiative WALDB (World Apparel & Footwear Life Cycle Assessment Database). With the help of its partners, WALDB collects data about the value chain of clothing and footwear in the fashion industry to make the product life cycle of a garment clearly visible. It is the goal to optimize the ecological footprint within the value chain on the basis of these data sets. With this analysis, conclusions can be drawn about the effect on the environment. The data contains all sectors, from the materials used to the supply chain. For I:CO, this partnership is another step towards improving sustainability in the fashion industry.

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Every year, millions of tonnes of used shoes end up in landfill sites or incineration plants. This results in the loss of valuable raw materials and natural resources. Every day, tens of thousands of used shoes are delivered to SOEX’s sorting and recycling plant in Wolfen, Germany. A large part of these tends to still be in good condition and can be worn again. They are distributed and sold around the world as secondhand products. This leaves around a quarter of the shoes no longer fit for use and the need for them to be disposed of professionally.

Following a five-year development phase, I:CO together with SOEX, a global leader in the field of used textiles marketing and recycling, presented the world’s first shoe recycling plant able to process all types of footwear. This pioneering system will serve to reduce waste and to close production cycles helping to enable a circular economy for the industry. It is, moreover, the first ever system able to mechanically disassemble all shoe types into their components, and to then derive from them usable secondary raw materials such as rubber, leather or foam. The innovative system provides a much needed truly sustainable solution for all unwearable shoes!

www.footwear-recycling.com

As a global leader in the outdoor apparel and footwear industry, our partner Columbia Sportswear is committed to protecting the greater outdoors and giving back to its communities. I:CO is proud to support their mission through Columbia’s ReThreads recycling program. All of its US stores accept unwanted clothing and shoes, and I:CO helps give these items a new life. To jumpstart 2018 spring cleaning time, Columbia will donate $1.00 USD to select non-profit organizations for every pound of clothing and shoes collected at its stores through March 27, 2018. Each participating customer will be given a token coin to place their vote for one of three non-profits: American Hiking Society, National Park Foundation or the Children and Nature Network. Through the ReThreads program, Columbia is joining the movement to significantly reduce the amount of apparel and footwear that ends up in landfills in order to help conserve material resources, reduce our collective carbon footprint, and renew communities and the planet.

C&A expands its ‘We Take it Back’ programme and invites all customers in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland to bring their used clothing and shoes to their favourite C&A store to give them a new life. In return you will receive a 15% discount voucher for your next purchase.

By 2020, C&A plans to offer this return opportunity in all its 18 European retail countries and in Brazil, Mexico and China. Since 2012, C&A has been offering its customers in the Netherlands an option for their unwanted clothes. During that period, C&A Netherlands collected 278,000 kg of clothing in collaboration with I:CO ensuring these items will be reused or recycled.