3,000 fewer polo shirts going into landfill

The background

Integral UK Ltd offer a range of building services and have a team of over 1,000 expert mobile engineers. Safpro have been supplying Integral since 2014 and throughout this period have been providing added value to Integral through our day-to-day service and account management programme.

Integral tendered for their requirements in 2022 and we were delighted to retain our preferred supplier status, primarily due to our strong Origin sustainability and circular procurement solutions being recognised.

The challenge

Integral were looking to source a ‘circular motion’ polo shirt and responsibly recycle their end-of-life workwear. Circular motion means that a garment is made from 100% recycled material and at the end of its wearable life it is recycled and re-manufactured back into a wearable garment.

This is known as closed-loop recycling and is a more effective use of the fabric than most textiles recycling in which the material is essentially down-cycled for lower value uses, such as insulation material or furniture stuffing that is non-recyclable and will ultimately end up going to landfill.

Workwear recycling & circular polo shirts

Safpro implemented a workwear collection and return-for-recycling system in Integral’s facilities, providing the enabling infrastructure for the closed-loop system which Integral wanted.

Safpro offered circular polo shirts which are designed and manufactured in a way that allows them to be 100% recyclable. When end-of-life garments are returned for recycling, these polo shirts are identified by a QR code on the label, this overcomes the common barrier of separating recyclable garments. The material in the polo shirts is then turned back into raw polyester which is woven into fabrics to be made into new clothes.

Result… 3,000 fewer polo shirts going into landfill

Both options were taken up by Integral. Once their stock of old polo shirts is used up, Integral will be ordering the circular polo shirt for all their mobile engineers. This will result in circa 3,000 circular polo shirts being procured each year which can be recycled into new garments, rather than being downcycled and eventually ending up in landfill or energy-from-waste incineration.