Circular Economy, a challenge for the textile sector
We live in a world of constant change, in every sense; people, companies, climate, processes, trends, concepts, etc… Evolving is necessary and beneficial if we approach it in the right way. And for those of us who dedicate ourselves to creating/producing, it is no exception. Currently, production in a company is based on a cycle where raw materials are transformed into products, marketed, and then discarded. At GDI, we have adopted the concept of Sustainability as part of our core values. We seek to go beyond recycling and reusing materials, implementing actions in recent years to achieve a Circular Economy. In other words, produce, use, and throw away? No! Our approach is Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. “The circular economy advocates using as many biodegradable materials as possible in the manufacture of consumer goods that can return to nature without causing environmental damage when they reach the end of their useful life. In cases where it is not possible to use eco-friendly materials, the objective will be to facilitate a simple decoupling to give them a new life by reincorporating them into the production cycle and composing a new piece. When that is not possible, it will be recycled in an environmentally friendly way.” Some of the principles of the circular economy that we already implement in our operation are: Reuse: reusing certain waste or parts of it, which can still be used to make new products. Repair: giving broken products a second life. Recycling: using materials found in waste. But you might ask: how do you apply it? Which products have it? Well, a few years ago we started with the dream of contributing more and we began with research, tests, many tests with which we achieved extremely valuable processes that we are proud of: Garments made with recyclable material. This consists of the development of garments with fabrics made from PET bottles; it is one of the most convenient ways to recycle plastic bottles and prevent their accumulation. At GDI we produce an average of 230,000 garments annually with 50% PET, which represents the recycling of more than 688,000 PET bottles. Regeneration: Development of new garments with fabrics obtained from the recycling of clothing that has gone through a circular system. At GDI we produce an average of 68,000 regenerated trousers annually using fabrics from recycled garments. Also within this process, through our garment destruction program designed to protect our clients' brands, as part of our care for the environment, the material resulting from said destruction is reprocessed to generate new by-products: Fabrics for carpets, yarns for upholstery, among other things. At GDI, we strive to minimize our environmental impact with eco-friendly products and processes, reducing energy consumption and improving the environmental quality of our processes through sound resource management. Today, given the times we are living in, it is more important to reflect on the fact that we do not live in isolation. We share the same air, the same planet, and therefore, everything you or I do has a ripple effect. This is our small contribution as a responsible company, as the GDI family, for you, for me. Get in touch with us and together we'll develop a program that protects your corporate image and makes you part of this cycle for the environment! Liliana Jiménez Figueroa – Senior Account Executive by GDI