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TEXTILES

41recyclinginternational.com | May/June | 2020

materials we can potentially provide.’
Bassett observes that textile recycling
is mostly focussed in South America
rather than North America. Other
options would be joining forces with
recyclers in Europe or Asia. ‘We were
going to invest in some recycling proj-
ects – but with the coronavirus that’s
looking unsure now,’ Bassett remarks.
‘We’ll probably postpone that to next
year or so.’

limiting the buRden
All products remade by The
Renewable Workshop and shipped to
customers are packaged in recycled
paper to support the recycling indus-
try and curb plastic waste. ‘I think
small decisions like this matter
because so many bad decisions are
made at corporate level. And who
bears the burden? The consumer.’
A great benefit of working at The
Renewable Workshop is there’s no
need to buy new clothes. ‘I can find
anything I want and need right here,
in our collection,’ Bassett laughs.
‘Another thing I do when the season
changes is to rent nice pieces.
Services like Rent the Runway are
great, for instance. If you’re bored,
you can completely update your ward-
robe without having to buy anything
outright. There are so many options
nowadays, and of such high quality,
that I may never buy anything brand
new again.’

a lOOp in mOtiOn
‘When we opened the first factory in
Oregon four years ago, we had no
idea that the world would change so
fast. Back then, only a few people in
the US knew about the circular econo-
my, let alone circular textiles,’ Bassett
says. As the growing list of partner-
ships with major brands such as The
North Face shows, this is no longer
the case.
‘I had worked in the apparel industry
for 15 years for companies like
Patagonia and Prana, with a heavy
focus on sustainable fashion.’ At first,
this involved making a transition from
conventional to organic cotton, strict
chemical management, supporting fair
trade, using recycled content and

minimising production waste. ‘The
more I read about new business mod-
els, the more I realised that the pro-
duction-consumption model was the
thing that was broken,’ Bassett notes.
‘The burning question isn’t whether
we can make better, eco-friendly
clothes. Yes, of course we can. We
must wonder, what comes after that?
How is a company truly sustainable if
all it can do to attain future growth is
make more and more stuff? Let’s think
about product life extension. Let’s
think about reutilising production
waste – which is at least 3% of what a
brand makes and then pays a lot of
money to get rid of.’ Bassett con-
cludes: ‘Our idea, or rather miscon-
ception, of “waste” is where the real
potential is.’
Looking ahead, the entrepreneur
believes big, commercial operations
will witness greater circularity. ‘The
shift is already happening. This
decade will see even more closed
loop companies, more renewed cloth-
ing, and a more sustainable fashion
industry. The new ‘20s will be all
about sustainability.’

CRisis: fashiOn seCtOR
‘implOdes’
The sudden arrival of COVID-19 has
‘twisted’ the balance between practi-
cality and sustainability, according to
Bassett. ‘We can’t even take our reus-
able shopping bags to the supermar-
ket due to contamination fears. As a
result, many places are using single-
use shopping bags again – even

though they were banned in some US
states only recently.’
In her view, people are good at han-
dling a crisis but they need time to
prepare, especially mentally. ‘With this
disease, we had no time to process it.
It was such a rapid shift, with every-
thing happening all at once.’
As well as affecting her day-to-day
life, Bassett notes the pandemic has
also impacted her business.
Specifically, the fashion industry has
‘pretty much imploded’ overnight.
‘That is the industry we rely on for our
revenue. We’ll be okay for the coming

months. I’m glad to say we are in a
really good position so I am not wor-
ried,’ Bassett adds. ‘Inventories will be
low so I think we will be able to help
some people outside of our current
network.’
The crew has also started creating
facemasks and hospital uniforms for
medical professionals in the area. ‘This
way, we have optimised our produc-
tion while supporting those people
saving lives.’
Bassett argues the coronavirus has
shortened the timeline for things that
were going to happen eventually. ‘It is

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