The R Collective has partnered with High Fashion Group for the first time to recycle leftover silk fabrics from luxury brands—materials that were originally destined for incineration—into regenerated silk yarn, launching a recycled silk knit capsule collection called RECIRCLE, now available for pre-order on Kickstarter until October 13.

Key Points

  • RECIRCLE is made from 100% regenerated silk yarn, sourced from surplus silk fabrics of luxury brands, with China's leading apparel manufacturer High Fashion Group participating in silk recycling, spinning, and knitting.
  • The R Collective founder Christina Dean cited data stating that 73% of the world's clothing fabrics ultimately end up in landfills or incinerators.
  • The collection is designed by Hong Kong-based British designer Grace Lant and includes two pieces: a relaxed open-knit short-sleeve crew-neck shirt and a fitted dress.

The capsule collection is helmed by British fashion designer Grace Lant. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, she now lives in Hong Kong. She said that in designing the RECIRCLE relaxed open-knit short-sleeve crew-neck shirt and the RECIRCLE fitted dress, her aim was to redefine consumerism while celebrating purpose-driven design; fashion designers who want to work together for change must strike a balance between art and innovation, and it is time to stop talking and take action.

On the materials side, RECIRCLE uses entirely regenerated silk yarn, sourced through partnerships with other fashion companies that purchase brands' surplus fabrics. Christina Dean, founder and CEO of The R Collective and founder of Redress, pointed out that the industry habitually incinerates textile waste, including materials bearing specific brand patterns, prints, and logos; 73% of the world's clothing fabrics ultimately end up in landfills or incinerators. She said The R Collective works with leading luxury brands to recycle and reuse the fashion industry's most difficult-to-handle surplus textiles, practicing a supply chain that ends in recycling rather than incineration.

The realization of these recycled silk products relies on the collaboration between The R Collective and High Fashion Group. High Fashion Group is described as a leading Chinese apparel manufacturer that embraces sustainability and innovation. Its CEO Lin Zhiyu said that achieving circular fashion requires collaboration across all industry parties, and through this partnership High Fashion Group is advancing a challenging textile waste recycling project, demonstrating how to strengthen key expertise in silk recycling, spinning, and knitting—fabrics that would otherwise often continue to be incinerated.

On the commercial side, RECIRCLE has chosen to launch pre-orders on Kickstarter, with a deadline of October 13; supporters who join the crowdfunding project can also gain additional priority access to purchase RECIRCLE pieces and other limited-edition works. The capsule collection has also been featured in media including Vogue Business, Kohan Textile Journal, Textile Focus, TEXTOTEX, Textile Value Chain, and Nippon Sewing Machine.

For the used-clothing and textile recycling industry, the significance of this case lies in the fact that surplus inventory fabrics bearing brand patterns, prints, and logos have long been one of the most difficult categories of textile waste to handle, and the joining of forces between the manufacturing side (spinning, knitting) and the design side offers a replicable pathway beyond incineration, while also showing that the commercialization of recycled and remanufactured products is being test-marketed through direct-to-consumer channels such as crowdfunding.

Source: The R Collective's first collaboration with High Fashion Group — rescuing silk fabrics from incinerators and recycling them into fashion for the wardrobe · Originally published 2021-10-08