After outfitting people for decades, we understand how important it is to evolve with the times. As the world shifts towards a more sustainable future, so do we. While we're making steady progress, we won't gloss over the fact that procuring and using sustainable fibres comes with its own set of complex challenges. For years we’ve done our best to explore new and innovative fabrics, and now we’ve set our sights on a bold, but achievable target.

By 2028, we aim to ensure that all our materials are derived from traceable, recycled, or organic sources. This goal is important to us for several reasons:

• Our commitment towards a circular economy means reducing our reliance on new or “virgin” materials. Instead, we’re focusing on using and reusing the resources that already exist.
• The farming and manufacturing processes for organic and recycled fibres tend to be kinder on the planet, by using less harmful chemicals, reducing our reliance on natural resources, and therefore causing less pollution to our planet.
• By prioritising traceability of our fibres, we can also ensure that the fabrics used to make your uniforms are ethically sourced and support fair labour practices within our supply chain.

Where we’re at now

As of now, only 3% of our fabrics meet the above criteria. (Yep, we definitely have our work cut out for us!)

A big part of our initial focus has been on making a shift from virgin polyester to recycled polyester. Virgin polyester has many benefits, as it is durable, quick drying, affordable and easy to care for, which has made it ideal for uniforms. However, polyester is non-renewable, meaning it is derived from a natural resource that cannot easily be replenished. In fact, polyester is made from petroleum-derived ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, or in other words, is made from oil. Although polyester doesn’t use much water to produce, it uses a significant amount of energy, and emits considerable greenhouse gas emissions through the fossil fuel burning process.

Through conducting analysis of our fabric use, we discovered that polyester fabrics currently make up about 55% of our annual fabric volume, so we felt it was important for us to focus on reducing our reliance on virgin synthetics, and move to recycled options.

Some of the recycled fibres we have introduced already are:

• Recycled Polyester from Unifi, called REPREVE®. Which uses plastic waste, such as used plastic bottles, and converts them into a polymer resin to create certifiable, traceable, high-performance yarn.
• We also used recycled polyester that is sourced through our current supply chain. We receive certifications from our fabric mills to ensure the polyester is in fact recycled.

We test all our recycled polyester fabrics to confirm that they do include recycled content. The test involves a chemical analysis to check if the fabric/ fibres contain a substance called Isophthalic Acid (IPA) that comes from the PET bottles. We do this with a technique called Liquid Chromatography – Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

We also make sure our suppliers send us a scope certificate, which proves that they have demonstrated the ability to comply with the relevant standard requirements by an approved certification body.

Our challenges moving to sustainable fabrics

Uniform & Corporate Customers

Our uniform and corporate customers often have high expectations for value, seeking a low cost per wear from our products. For example, our supermarket uniforms need to withstand washing up to 2-3 times a week and last 18-24 months - a real workout for the fabric. This means that our field tests have to be pretty long, anywhere between 6-12 months, to truly gauge the expected lifecycle of a Deane garment. As a result, it can slow down how quickly we can make changes to our fabrics.

Since these uniforms are a big part of a company's image, they've got to look good too. Keeping their colour and shape is key. We've hit some bumps with our polo fabrics, where the pilling and abrasion results weren't up to snuff so we’ve had to do further development with our fabric mill to get things right.

Then there's the ‘hand-feel’ of the fabric. Unlike mainstream fashion, uniforms need to look, perform and feel the same year after year. Achieving this consistency while making the switch to recycled polyester has been quite tricky. Even if the fabric's composition and weight are the same, the hand-feel can be different, which impacts how customers view the quality and comfort of the garment. For example, if a fabric feels too silky, it might be perceived as clinging to the body. Or if the fabric is too scratchy, it can give the impression that it’s heavier or cheaper.

Commercial Laundry Customers

Likewise, over 50% of our garments are made to be washed in commercial laundries, where temperatures can hit between 60 -90 degrees Celsius. Deane garments are chosen for this tough environment because they're known to last and stand up to the wear and tear, which is crucial for commercial laundries. So, when we think about switching these fabrics, we have to make sure they're just as tough through robust in-market testing. The catch is, to really mimic those laundry conditions, we need an exceptionally long testing time which takes approximately 12 months. Again, this reduces the speed at which we can transition to sustainable fabrics.

What we’re working on in 2024

Hurdles aside, we’re pushing ahead with some incredible initiatives this year. Our main focus is on conducting thorough testing and customer validation, so we can confidently transition our fabrics to sustainable alternatives in the coming years.

Key initiatives to note:

Switching our two largest suiting ranges to recycled polyester: This change will make up 6% of our total polyester use and, once implemented, will mean 6% of our annual fabric use meets our goal of being traceable, recycled, or organic (woohoo!). We have completed the early tests and are now moving into customer field trials. We aim to have this new supply ready to go by September 2024 and on the shelves by quarter 1 of 2025.

Testing key workwear fabric in a commercial laundry: We're trying out a polyester/cotton blend to see how recycled polyester holds up in a commercial laundry with a 90-degree wash. Our partners at Alsco Uniforms have two customers (one in New Zealand and one in Australia) who will be testing these fabrics out for us for up to 12 months between 2024 and 2025. If all goes well, we could switch another 25% of our polyester to recycled by 2026!

Testing 100% recycled polyester polo with Foodstuffs: We've done a lot of tests on recycled polyester knits with other customers, but the Foodstuffs environment (New World, Pak'nSave, and Four Square) is unique, so we need some good in-store testing. The trial will start in May 2024 and run for 6 months, so we'll know how it went by the end of the year. What we learn here will also help us figure out the fabrication for our high-volume stock polos.

Testing organic cotton with a key customer: Not only is the uniform used in a unique environment but it also needs to look good since it's a big part of the brand. So, maintaining the aesthetic qualities of these fabrics is paramount.

We're excited about the progress we've made so far and even more stoked about what's ahead. Watch this space as we continue to push the boundaries, innovate and lead the charge toward a more sustainable future in uniform apparel.

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