Dutch Awearness – Circular workwear

Textile company Dutch Awearness has created the first circular textile chain with 100% recyclable fabric for workwear and offers circular solutions for used textiles and plastics. Fashion designer Rien Otto previously worked on sustainable textile and through the European Commission’s Eco-Innovation scheme he had the opportunity to implement his idea on a large scale. This resulted in the founding of EcoProFabrics and the launch of Dutch Awearness.

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"Finding the right partners who want to work in a circular way, is the biggest challenge.Good communication and transparency are often at the heart of a well-functioning circular chain. We are working on work processes rather than products."

Rien Otto, Fashion Designer at Dutch Awearness

From design to global collaboration

Dutch Awearness focussed on a circular design by developing their Infinity material which can be recycled 8 times in a closed loop. The company also created a track-and-trace system to map the course of the raw materials and to guarantee the origin of the materials which can be applied to other types of chains. Dutch Awearness concentrates on a circular approach on all fronts, not just the production side, but also as a business model. This model incorporates the use of lease contracts on workwear.

Cliff

Clothing that is not made from Infinity material, can also be collected by the partners of Dutch Awearness. This clothing is processed into ‘Cliff’, a composite of used textile and plastic. Cliff is used to making furniture, among other things, an is also 100% recyclable. The Cliff products are sold by resellers who are affiliated with Dutch Awearness.

From pilot project to global collaboration

Through pilot projects, Dutch Awearness researched which types of textiles are necessary to serve the workwear market – from uniforms to protective clothing. Dutch Awearness and its partners have now developed a full-service model: in addition to clothing, they also collect other personal protection items and plastics, so that the material can be reused in other high-quality products.