Recycling in golf fashion
Plastic with a difference is the slogan – the fashion industry has discovered the topic of sustainability for itself . Also in golf. The question of the origin of the goods worn on the skin is becoming increasingly interesting. In the case of Galvin Green’s new Dwight and Diane sweaters, it’s actually 15 one-liter plastic bottles. Completely recycled of course. Galvin Green unveiled part of his new golf collection this week, including several pieces with warm INSULA insulation, all made from 100% recycled polyester, which in turn is made from plastic bottles. “We don’t make any compromises in terms of comfort or the performance of the material,” explains CEO Nicoloa Stein. “On the other hand, this is the spearhead of our new sustainable garments that we want to introduce on a much larger scale.”
In fact, the term sustainability is becoming increasingly important in sports fashion . The so-called “Bluesign” standard for textile production according to environmental protection guidelines is one of the leading ones. The aim of the seal, which was founded in 2000 by textile and chemical experts and is operated by a company in Switzerland, is to reduce the environmental impact on the textile industry . Galvin Green, for example, has committed itself to this seal in golf fashion.
The golf shoe manufacturer Ecco , on the other hand, now relies on PrimaLoft Bio . The functional fabric, which was presented for the first time at the ISPO in Munich in 2019, consists of completely recycled, biodegradable fibers. It is interesting that the recycled fibers used biodegrade particularly well under certain environmental conditions – for example when they are on landfills or in seawater. The fibers are quite attractive to microbes.
An important aspect when you consider that, according to estimates by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation , around a million tons of microfibers end up in the ocean every year just by washing textiles made from plastic such as polyester, nylon or acrylic – which are often hardly biodegradable.
The fiber manufacturer Primaloft also relies on a partnership with sports multinational Adidas : together they introduce Adidas products with Primaloft insulation, which are made from recycled polyester from Parley for the Oceans . This is an organization that collects PET bottles from sea shores and then reuses them.
The Munich laminate manufacturer Sympatex also offers various products that are made from 100 percent recycled materials and are climate-neutral. A trend that, according to CEO Rüdiger Fox, needs to strengthen. He told Sports Fashion magazine earlier this year: “Textiles must be designed and manufactured in such a way that all components can be recovered.” In his opinion, the recycling processes still have to be expanded in order to get a better circular economy going and to recycle pure polyester.
But how does the golfer know whether he is taking a sustainable piece of clothing with him on the round or not? While there are a variety of voluntary seals, about which the Siegelklarheit portal provides information, for example, there are no legal standards to date.
What is needed is the innovative spirit of the companies – and the willingness of the customers to try something new.
