Thanks to the amazing people behind the SEAQUAL Initiative, we can now create bespoke garments from marine litter!
Your brand can now have a sustainable clothing range where every item literally reduces the amount of marine plastic in our oceans.
We use polyester in our bespoke garments
At Taylor Made Designs, a lot of our bespoke garments are made from polyester textiles. Polyester is a brilliant fabric that offers a wide range of colours and finishes. It holds its shape beautifully, it’s highly durable and it’s naturally quick-drying. The biggest problem with polyester is that it’s made from fossil fuels … and that’s bad for the environment.
We encourage our clients to opt for recycled polyester whenever possible, but in most cases, using recycled polyester just stops plastic pollution from getting worse … it doesn’t shrink the amount of ocean plastic that’s already out there in our oceans. That’s where SEAQUAL® YARN comes in!
What is SEAQUAL® YARN?
SEAQUAL® YARN has the same physical properties as standard recycled polyester yarn, but it is made from 100% post-consumer plastic.
With SEAQUAL® YARN, marine litter (discarded bottles and plastic bags, for instance) is gathered from our oceans and rivers, then it’s sorted, processed and spun into fresh polyester yarn. Recycling this kind of post-consumer marine plastic is a very different process to recycling ocean-bound plastic.
Ocean-bound plastic versus marine litter: what’s the difference?
Ocean-bound plastic is any plastic waste at risk of entering the ocean if not handled properly. This includes plastics stored in depots within 50km of the shore. Sometimes, sustainable yarns get classed as ‘recycled ocean bound plastic’ purely because they’re made from waste plastic that just happens to be stored in a coastal location (ref. UGA).
Ocean-bound plastic recycled yarns are better for the environment than virgin polyester, but SEAQUAL® YARN is the first material that can actively reduce the amount of marine plastic already out there in our seas. It works just as well as standard polyester; it can be spun in just about every colour and texture imaginable, so it’s perfect for certain items of leisure clothing and workwear.
What is SEAQUAL?
SEAQUAL is a unique community of businesses, individuals and organisations working together to reduce plastic pollution in marine environments. With SEAQUAL, marine plastic is taken out of the ocean, sorted, cleaned and transformed back into sustainable raw materials. This recycled marine plastic can be spun into a polyester yarn.
We have invested in a SEAQUAL License because we believe this fabric has the potential to do a huge amount of good in the years to come. Soon, we’ll be able to offer our bespoke clothing clients SEAQUAL® YARN as a textile choice. It’s the perfect option for bespoke-branded clothing, because it can be coloured and woven to fit a client’s precise specifications.
Find out more
This yarn is one of many different fabrics we can work with when creating a bespoke uniform range. If you would like to learn more about sustainable uniform choices, get in touch with Taylor Made Designs. Our friendly team will call you back to book a uniform review meeting. We can talk you through all of the options available.