In 2023, we had an introduction to one of the stitch-alongs with our friends at Jimmy Beans Wool. The crochet blankets were available in two different formats. First was the Metropolis version, which was 75% Extra Fine Merino wool and 25% Nylon, but the other was called Scrumptious, which was 50% recycled bottles and 50% acrylic.
It's 2024, and humans produce an incredible amount of waste, but innovation has found ways to recycle recycled bottles into practical items. Scheepjes Yarns is innovative with alternative solutions, bringing fibres to the marketplace where if you didn't know they were made from recycled plastic bottles, you would probably not even realize it.
Sadly, only about 7% of the bottles get recycled, and it will take about a thousand years before they break back down. Think about that. Of the 100 bottles you use, only 7 of them get recycled. It's a bit overwhelming to think about. You will have been dead a lone time before the bottle you used will ever disappear.
One of the things that came to my mind was how soft this yarn could possibly be. To my surprise, I couldn't tell the difference. The wonderful thing about this yarn is that because the item is already made once, it's cheaper to make the yarn, as the components of the plastic have already been done and are abundant through recyclers.
See the video below on how they take the bottles and change them over to be able to make clothing from them.
See How It's Made
Recently, I noticed there is a trend on Instagram reels about this concept going through a candy floss type of machine. It intrigued me again. In the case below, take the bottles and convert them to fibres to make insulation. I've always joked that I have so much yarn that I could insulate my house with it. Truly looking at the example below, you really can.
Official channels say that the majority of consumers don't care about the origin of the yarn. So if it's marketed as a recycled bottled yarn, it doesn't make crocheters anxious to try it. There's no kickback for it, but it doesn't factor into the decision power at the cash register.
In the future, innovation like this will be at the forefront, and consumers will make decisions based on it even though we are not there right now. Currently, we are using 500 billion bottles per year as a species. In the USA, 60 million plastic bottles are thrown out each day.
Below is my video showing one of the Yarnspirations manufacturing plants but it's not recycled yarn. You will see, the concept is the same but the materials are different for recycled fibres.
Imagine if the bottle you are drinking today, is the blanket, clothing or more you are wearing tomorrow. We are there technology-wise, it's a matter of making the change. Each year, the fashion industry pumps out 100 - 150 billion individual clothing parts per year. The youngest consumer, 36% of them buy at least one new clothing item per month with the average person having 148 articles of clothing.
A company called Greensole makes shoes and other things from recycled bottles. Take a look because some of the shoes, you would never know they were recycled.
Walk and wear forward a solution.
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