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Fashion veteran Harold Tillman in new collaboration to turn unused clothing into fuel
Fashion giants, including H&M and Gucci owner Kering, could soon recycle unused clothes into machines that turn them into fuel.
Founded by industry veteran Harold Tillman and representing 60,000 apparel companies across the industry, Ethical Fashion Group has teamed up with Hydrogen Utopia International (HUI), whose technology converts fabrics into carbon-free fuels.
Members, including H&M and Kering, but also Vivienne Westwood and Roland Mouret will have access to HUI’s machines, which are the size of a small house.
Ethical Fashion Group, founded by industry veteran Harold Tillman (pictured with HUI founder Aleksandra Binkowska)
They convert polyester and other plastics into energy that they can use or pump into the grid.
The clothing industry is the second largest polluter in the world after oil and gas, producing about 92 million tons of textile waste every day.
Tillman, the former boss of the British Fashion Council, hopes that the ability to recycle the plastic used in clothing will reduce the huge amounts sent to landfills or incineration.
Tillman, former boss of Jaeger and Aquascutum, said HUI’s technology will help the fashion industry become “part of the solution rather than part of the problem.”
London-listed HUI founder Aleksandra Binkowska said shoppers “often unknowingly” buy clothes made from plastic.