Born from Scraps. Worn with Pride.
The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, right behind the oil industry. From growing the crops to create the materials in a piece of clothing to distributing the garments, all aspects of apparel production contribute to differing forms of environmental pollution.
The fashion industry is a large water consumer. Not only does cotton need A LOT of water to grow, about 5,283 gallons of water to produce 2,204 pounds of cotton, but the dyeing and finishing process for all our clothes can take up to 200 tons of fresh water per ton of dyed fabric. In several of the countries where garments are produced, untreated toxic water waste from these factories are usually dumped directly in nearby rivers. These practices are not only extremely harmful for the aquatic life and health of millions of people living near those riverbanks, but also everyone around the globe when the toxic water reaches the seas.
To put everything into perspective, cotton is the most common natural fiber used to make clothing. Cotton is also one of the thirstiest crops, requiring about 713 gallons of water to make ONE shirt. That is enough water for a one person to drink for TWO AND A HALF YEARS and dyeing fabric alone requires enough water to fill 2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools every year.
The new District Re-Tee is an affordable 100% recycled fabric and never re-dyed t-shirt made from reclaimed materials that otherwise could end up in a landfill.
The Re-Tee is composed of 60% recycled cotton scraps and 40% recycled polyester known as rPET, derived from used items such as plastic bottles. Each shirt’s color comes from the original cotton scraps and polyester yarn, so they never have to be re-dyed. The factory the shirts are produced in is almost completely self-sustaining as well.
So why not do good for the planet and look good while doing it?