RE:FIBRE MEETS EURO 2024.
Ahead of Euro 2024, PUMA created the replica shirts for its national teams from RE:FIBRE, its textile-to-textile recycling programme which uses polyester textile waste from factory off-cuts, faulty goods, and pre-loved clothing as the primary source of material to create new textiles. Through RE:FIBRE, PUMA aims to reduce textile waste and become less reliant on using plastic bottles to produce the recycled polyester used in our products.
For the first time, our National team Replica jerseys were made from RE:FIBRE. Not only that but – from the start of the 2024/25 season – we have also developed our Club Replica jerseys using the RE:FIBRE initiative. This will feature 35 clubs and millions of garments made from RE:FIBRE, creating a more circular and sustainable way of producing football jerseys.
DIRECTOR GLOBAL INNOVATION APPAREL & ACCESSORIES, PUMA
WHAT IS RE:FIBRE?
The RE:FIBRE process focuses on textile waste as the primary source of material to create new textiles. The recycled material can be used for recycling again and again without losing quality – making RE:FIBRE a more long-term solution for recycling polyester textile waste.
The RE:FIBRE process uses any polyester material – from factory offcuts, faulty goods to pre-loved clothes which allows new garments to be recycled from any color textile to any color desired.
Step 1
COLLECT & SORT
Collected products are shipped to PUMA’s external sorting partners who sort the products according to different quality criteria. Products not suitable for the RE:FIBRE recycling process are repurposed or disposed of through other channels.
Step 2
SHRED & MIX
The collected materials are then mixed and shredded down into small fabric flakes.
Step 3
DISSOLVE
The shredded polyester is melted down and previous dyes are removed through a chemical recycling process.
Step 4
MELT, SPIN, KNIT & SEW
The melting allows the newly produced polymers to become ready to be spun and sewn into shape to create good-as-new RE:FIBRE fabric, which can be recycled again and again.
Our wish is to have 100% of product polyester coming from textile waste. Rethinking the way we produce and moving towards a more circular business model is a priority and our RE:FIBRE textile-to-textile recycling programme is central to that.
CHIEF SOURCING OFFICER AT PUMA
