British brand Nudea – B Corp-certified underwear brand – has launched a bra recycling scheme called ‘Bra-cycle’ to inspire its customers to recycle their old bras.
Nudea says that on average every British woman maintains 20 bra varieties but only commonly wears five with 19 million – rest end up in landfills, which inspired Nudea to initiate the recycling scheme.
Priya Downes, CEO, Nudea explains the significance of bra-cycle for the brand, “From the very beginning, we’ve been committed to operating Nudea as sustainably as possible. We’re all about encouraging people to buy less, buy better and simply put, buy bras that fit. However, there’s no denying the fact that underwear is one of the most polluting categories in the fashion industry, so we wanted to address this by offering a recycling scheme.”
“Unlike a lot of other clothing categories, there is no second-hand market for underwear. Once a bra has been worn and washed it loses its stretch over time and eventually is no longer supportive or functional and this is why so many bras end up in landfill. We’re working with our recycling partner to take apart the components and recycle the fibers and metals used within bra manufacture. The textiles are processed into a densified or pelletised material mixture that can be used for new product applications such as carpet backing and the wires are shredded, baled, and sent for smelting to be used for new products including washers, nuts and bolts,” said Priya Downes.
