Recycled plastic: from waste to wearable
Plastic is everywhere. We’ve all seen the footage: oceans choked with bottles, hedgerows tangled with shopping bags, beaches dotted with debris. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. But something interesting has been happening over the last few years: a growing number of people and brands are trying to turn some of that waste into something useful.
One of the ways this is happening is through fabric made from recycled plastic. It’s called rPET (short for recycled polyethylene terephthalate) and it usually starts life as a clear plastic drinks bottle. These bottles are collected, cleaned, chopped into flakes, melted down, and spun into fibres. Those fibres are then woven into textiles that can be used in all kinds of products, from coats and bags to trainers and caps.
This process isn’t brand new. It’s been around for a while. But it’s definitely picking up pace. As more people question how their clothing is made (and what it’s made from) recycled fabrics like rPET are coming to the surface more often.
That said, it’s not perfect. Not all recycled plastic fabric is the same. Some feel stiff, coarse, and oddly shiny (not what you want rubbing against your head or resting on your shoulders). But manufacturing techniques are improving, and the quality of the finished fabrics has come on leaps and bounds. You can now get rPET blends that are soft, breathable, and long-lasting - sometimes indistinguishable from more traditional materials. Some even blend rPET with organic cotton or hemp, striking a balance between structure and comfort.
Of course, the best solution is to not use plastic in the first place. But we’re in a world where billions of plastic bottles are already out there, and many of them aren’t getting reused or recycled. If some of them can be repurposed into clothing that people actually want to wear, it feels like a step in the right direction. Better, at least, than letting them rot in landfill for the next 500 years.
The other side of this is about education. There’s a common assumption that recycled fabrics must be scratchy or second-rate. But that’s often not the case. In fact, some people now actively prefer them, because they carry a bit more meaning. When you put on something made from waste, you’re reminded that the choices we make - even in the little things - can have a broader impact.
At Know Wear, we’ve been looking at rPET fabric samples for the last few months. Some are better than others. Some are more suitable for caps — which need to be structured, breathable, and comfortable to wear all day. But we’re impressed by how far the materials have come. A few years ago, it might not have been feasible to make a truly good cap from recycled plastic. Now, it’s entirely possible, with the right fabric, the right construction, and a little bit of attention to detail.
That detail matters. We’re not interested in slapping a recycled label on something just to tick a box. It has to be a well-made product, something people actually want to wear - not just because it’s sustainable, but because it’s well-designed. Sustainability is important, but so is quality. If a cap is made sustainably but falls apart after six months, it doesn’t really help anyone.
There’s also the question of traceability. Where was the plastic sourced? Was it post-consumer waste (used bottles and containers), or offcuts from industrial manufacturing? Was the recycling process energy efficient? These are questions we’re still digging into. We want to be able to tell our customers exactly what they’re wearing and why it matters, without dressing it up or glossing over the tricky bits.
For us, this isn’t about being perfect. It’s about doing what we can, where we can, and being open about the process. We’re still small. We're still learning. But we believe that if you start something with care (whether it's a brand, a product, or a promise) that intention carries through.
We don’t have caps in production yet. But when we do, rPET is very likely to eventually be part of the mix. Not just because it reduces waste, but because it represents something bigger: a shift in thinking. From throwaway to thought-through. From off-the-shelf to designed with purpose.
So yes, it’s still a plastic bottle. But it’s also a way of rethinking the materials we wear and the stories they tell.