Schijvens – 100% recycled corporate clothing

Schijvens has been producing corporate uniforms for more than 150 years now. Since 2017, they have started to receive back from customers the outworn clothing, shred them and mix the textile fibers with shredded pet-polyester ones from sportswear, fishing nets and bottles. This led to 100% recycled yarn, which is used to make new fabrics and at the end new corporate uniforms.

In 2018, they won the Dutch Corporate Fashion Award and in 2020, Schijvens was the winner of the Dutch Circular Award in the Business category. The jury praised the company for closing cycles in the textile chain higher up on the R-strategy ladder (cycle ladder).

Opn.-186_LR-Schijvens-Corporate-Fashion.png

Renewable commerce is in Schijvens’ DNA

The first milestone was launching a circular collection for customer Stayokay by sustainably producing post-consumer uniforms consisting of 50% already worn textiles mixed with 50% recycled polyester. Nowadays, they have several big Dutch customers, such as: Kruidvat, Etos, Hema, Circl (ABN Amro), NS Retail and also expanding outside the Netherlands to international retailers with a sustainable mindset.

Their circular process includes the whole value chain: from customer, return logistics (in cooperation with PostNL), recycle-partner to the spinner of recycled yarn, weaver, knitter, sewing facility and transport company. Today, already 70% of Schijvens’ whole turnover is made in this circular way.

The recycling of uniforms can save around 99% water (instead of growing new cotton), 40% CO2 and 40% energy. And this also leads to creating new jobs in sorting old textiles.

www.schijvens.nl