Eco Reports and Information

Published - 1st January, 2024

How we can help you deliver against your green credentials.

Over the last few years, we’ve been working hard to create a way to help any product have a green side. We understand that being 100% green isn’t within reach of everyone. So we’ve developed a three tier approach that gives everyone a chance of delivering on a green promise.

Great value – Option 1

The first greener great value option is that we now offer 100% recycled threads for for stitching your branding onto one of our non recycled stock caps.

The cap could be any of one of our polyester or even eco friendly cotton (remember – being green isn’t just about recycled) caps from the 1,000,000+ stock standard caps we hold in the U.K. This amazing thread is made from recycled plastic bottles. So not only is it making your finished product greener, it’s also helping to clean up the planet at the same time.

The thread we use was developed in response to the global demand to reduce plastic bottles. Sadly it takes up to 450 years for a PET bottle to break down but actually, it’s never truly gone. So the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and the oceans has increased dramatically over the last 50 years.

The new thread is manufactured using recycled transparent bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The process gives post-consumer waste a second life in brilliant, shiny colours. By reusing existing materials, no new waste is created, and non-renewable resources are saved.

Fully recycled – Option 2

Our fully recycled option uses the same environmentally friendly thread, but this time on a stock standard recycled polyester cap. Our recycled caps are made from 100% recycled polyester.

Virgin polyester is basically a petroleum based product that through chemical reactions is made into polyethylene terephthalate (PET), it has huge advantages, retaining its shape well and is resistant to wrinkling, shrinking, and stretching. But like its bottle equivalent, it takes centuries to break down.

In an effort to make a difference, recycled polyester has been developed. Using recycled polyester instead of virgin polyester means we are less dependent on fossil fuels and in turn means we put less virgin polyester into land fills – or worse – floating around in our oceans. Producing recycled polyester requires less energy, and produces fewer carbon emissions.

How are PET bottles recycled?

Step 1: By recycling collect clear PET bottles
Step 2: Shred the bottles into flakes
Step 3: Though heat and pressure, convert the flakes into chips
Step 4: Melt the chips, and extrude them though a micro mesh
Step 5: Take the extruded fibres and spin them into thread
Step 6: Use the new thread for weaving or stitching

Eco unlimited – Option 3

Our final option utilises all the above, but delivers it in a fully recycled and bespoke way. Here you can create your own configuration of recycled cap (or eco friendly natural fiber cap). Each panel being specified by you. Every part of the cap could be specified, from the piping to the fasteners.

Each and every item has the ability to be 100% recycled or based on a natural material. This can create a cap that both looks good, and does good.

What‘s even better, is if you use one of our recycled polyester cap configurations there is a 144 MOQ and a 35 day turn around (from approval of sample – plus sea or air transit times).

You can quite literally have a multi-colour cap, made from the same recycled fabric, with the same green credentials, stitched with recycled thread.

If you would like to talk further about this option speak to one of our sales team today. They will be happy to talk you through the options we have. As there are so many initiatives in the pipeline, it’s the best way to get the latest information!