Bestseller Boosts Recycled Polyester With Textile-to-Textile Innovation

Fashion group Bestseller is significantly intensifying its efforts to integrate textile-to-textile recycled polyester throughout its extensive supply chain. This strategic push marks a substantial step forward in the company's commitment to more sustainable material choices, highlighting a clear direction towards circularity within the fashion industry.

The latest initiative prominently features Bestseller's key brand, Only, which has successfully transformed its entire jersey-programme of basic tops to incorporate recycled polyester derived directly from textile waste. The initial styles from this ambitious project are now readily available in stores, representing a tangible outcome of this concentrated effort. This groundbreaking project was the result of a collaborative partnership between Only, advanced materials textile-to-textile recycling specialist RE&UP, and Turkish garment supplier Deniz.

Bestseller emphasizes that material selection carries considerable environmental weight, and this new initiative perfectly aligns with the group's strategic focus on minimizing the reliance on virgin materials, particularly polyester. Pernille Tøttrup, Sourcing Process Manager at Only, articulated the practical benefits, stating, “This enables us to create garments made from worn-out clothing and factory textile waste, while offering the same performance and durability as if it were made from virgin polyester.”

The initial production phase for Only has seen 11 styles transition from conventional polyester to RE&UP's next-generation recycled polyester, translating into the production of over 100,000 T-shirts. Looking ahead, the capacity for this process is actively being scaled up, with an ambitious target to process a million tonnes of textile waste by the year 2030. This expansion underscores the long-term vision and potential impact of such recycling technologies.

Only is now one of several brands within the Bestseller group actively integrating recycled materials into their existing collections. This includes their Never Out Of Stock (NOOS) range, and earlier this year, the menswear brand Jack & Jones also successfully converted a NOOS bumper jacket to recycled polyester made from textile waste, demonstrating a consistent group-wide commitment.

Dorte Rye Olsen, Bestseller's Head of Sustainability, elaborated on the broader organizational strategy: “We are actively reshaping our approach to materials, prioritising a shift from conventional to organic cotton and from virgin to recycled polyester.” She envisions an ideal scenario where all textiles seamlessly re-enter a circular production system once they have reached the end of their wear life. While acknowledging that there is still a significant journey ahead, she noted, “Here, we see examples of how this can be achieved.” She also confirmed that, alongside exploring and investing in textile-to-textile solutions, Bestseller is concurrently expanding its utilization of recycled materials sourced from other waste feedstocks.