Using work clothes made with eco-friendly fabrics brings benefits to the environment by significantly reducing energy usage, emissions and waste.
Klopman is aware of the importance of promoting the circular economy and sustainability in the textile sector and has therefore created a green range to improve the conditions of producers in developing countries.
The range is made of recycled plastic bottles, wood pulp, organic cotton or cotton certified according to Fairtrade or BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) standards.
For a company that produces more than 42 million metres of fabric every year, this new range is a significant step forward for sustainability.
Cotton uses 2.5% of the cultivated land in the world but consumes 16% of pesticides, and so the switch to organic or certified cotton is more ecologically responsible.
Similarly, using environmentally-friendly polyester means giving new life to a plastic bottle that would otherwise take about 1,000 years to disappear. This change saves 45% of energy, 20% of water and 30% of emissions in fibre production compared to normal polyester.
Below are the five reasons that Klopman gives for choosing a workwear garment made with green fabrics.
- More energy for the planet
To produce a ton of plastic, 900 litres of oil, 180 cubic metres of water and 14,000 kilowatt hours of energy are needed. Instead, for a ton of recycled plastic, two tons of used plastic, one cubic metre of water and 950 kilowatt hours of energy are enough.
- Less plastic pollution in the seas
According to World Wildlife Found (WWF) data, plastics represent 95% of offshore waste found on the seabed and on the beaches of the Mediterranean.
Europe, the second-largest producer of plastic in the world after China, pours out between 150,000 and 500,000 tons of plastic into the sea each year. Encouraging and promoting the adoption of recycled plastic allows us to limit its release into the environment.
- Economic benefit for the country
According to the COREPLA Green Economy Report (Italian National Consortium for the collection, recycling and recovery of plastic packaging), in 2017 43.4% of the plastic packaging collected was recycled.
Between 2005 and 2017, the packaging recycled grew exponentially by 64%, bringing Italy an economic benefit of over €2bn on the raw material not consumed, the production of energy and on reduced CO2 emissions. Using eco-friendly garments increases the benefits of recycling plastic.
- Minor consumption of greenhouse gas and water
According to the first international study on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of organic cotton promoted by TE (Textile Exchange, a non-profit organisation that promotes a sustainable textile industry), the positive effects of organic cotton are numerous:
- 46% reduction of climate-altering gas emissions
- 70% reduction in emissions responsible for acidification
- 91% reduction in water consumption mainly for irrigation (excluding rainwater)
- 26% reduction of eutrophication, ie the excessive enrichment of nutrients of the ecosystem
- 62% reduction in primary energy consumption.
The study was conducted on data from countries such as India, Turkey, Tanzania, the US and China, which account for 97% of the world’s organic cotton production.
- Linking quality and respect for the environment
Choosing a workwear garment produced with eco-friendly fabrics does not mean giving up quality, says Klopman. Thanks to the advanced focus on materials and production techniques, adopting a garment made of green fabrics guarantees – for companies and the workers who wear it – comfort, quality, and above all, durability with substantial consequent cost savings.
