IDEAS FOR GOODOut of all the many daily goods, perhaps the most surprisingly destructive items to the environment are T-shirts. Oil is a necessary ingredient to produce polyester used in making T-shirts.
The risks of Oil
However, oil not only emits carbon dioxide, but is also often a trigger for war. In the past, economically advanced countries have assisted other countries to attain independence in order to get their hands on their oil. Consequently, these new independent countries will form a monoculture economy that depends greatly on oil.
But what if the price of oil declines? This country will face great economic risks as a direct result. Oil may be the catalyst in evolving civilizations, but it has also sowed the seeds of countless conflicts. When you put this into consideration, there seems nothing more sinful than discarding old T-shirts.
A departure from the traditional way to make T-shirts
If this is the case, why don’t we make new T-shirts from old ones? This is exactly the idea that BRING T-shirts came up with. They produce a circular economy of T-shirts using Japan’s crowdfunding platform Makuake and raised 1 million yen (about $10,000). BRING T-shirts are made of polyester reproduced from the textile of discarded T-shirts. Their quality are similar to T-shirts made directly from oil. This T-shirt reproducing project is led by Japanese environmental concerns and recycling consulting agency JEPLAN.
Although these T-shirts are 100% polyester, their texture is like cotton and offer UV protection by adding titanium. They also excel in water absorbency, quick drying and functionality.
We can do more without Oil as a player
Old clothes made of polyester are reproducible resources. Approximately 45 million tons of clothes and textile products produced globally use oil-derived polyester. This is equivalent to 60% of the total amount of clothes and textile products. Furthermore, about 1.7 million textile products are discarded every year in Japan.
Japan’s oil resources are poor, so the country is actively involved in drilling oil in and outside Japan. However, oil is not something you can drill forever. We need to convert to renewable energy, while also thinking about how we can reproduce the oil products that we already have.
BRING T-shirts are said to be as comfortable as cotton T-shirts when you wear them. If you want to take action to improve the environment and society, why not start with an everyday item as close to home as your T-shirt?
This article was originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD.
Translated by Ayako Karino.
