REVIVE: New Knitwear From Old Wool

Yorkshire is wool country. For over a century, West Yorkshire was known as the ‘Heavy Woolen District’ – a name synonymous with the durable and versatile woollen cloth that was produced in the area. Far from the lost art that it seems today, the recycling of woollen fabrics was an integral part of this industry, so much so that the small town of Osset once claimed to have a ‘rag merchant’ (a wool recycler) on every corner – retaining their town motto, ‘Inutile Utile Ex Arte’, to this day.

With the rise in modern textile production in the 20th century however, and a shift towards more synthetic materials, what was once a ubiquitous industry in England’s largest county fell into decline. Now, decades later, we’re proud to be returning to the spiritual home of this historic industry, partnering with recycling innovators iinouiio and their Founder, Dr John Parkinson, to take the latest step in our circularity journey – the Revive knitwear capsule. 

“I am so proud to be the last remaining traditional Yorkshire wool recycler,” Dr John told us with infectious delight, as he bounced around the iinouiio factory showing our team different machines involved in the recycling process. Having grown up in ‘the trade’ since his father bought a “small shoddy manufacturer’s mill” in 1970, Dr John has accumulated a deep knowledge of textile recycling, which he is desperate to pass on.

Iinouiio, Dr John explains, is an acronym for ‘it is never over until it is over’. “It was an attempt to capture our joy at coming back to the trade, and that idea that ‘waste is not a waste’ – it’s a raw material too often limited by our imagination and skill”. 

It was that imagination and skill that was poured into the production of our Revive knitwear capsule. The challenge being to not only create a garment that was fully recycled, but to go one step further – deconstructing old knitwear at the end of its useful life, turning that wool into fresh yarn and creating a brand-new garment from the materials.

The process, Dr John explains, is very similar to the manufacture of woollen fabrics with virgin fleece. In standard woollen processing, short-fibre wool is first ‘scoured’ and washed with hot water and detergent to remove any dirt, before being put through a ‘carding’ machine to prepare it for ‘combing’ and ‘spinning’ into yarn.

In the case of the recycled wool in our Revive capsule, the raw fleece is replaced with old woollen garments at the end of their useful life which have been mechanically shredded to create a clumpy fleece-like raw material to be carded, combed and spun. The total compoisition of the finished garments is 80% pre-consumer recycled wool and 20% post-consumer recycled wool, 5% of which is Finisterre feedstock from Reskinned.

It’s not only a landmark in our own journey towards circular manufacturing but also holds great promise for the wider industry. “We are currently installing the first wool and luxury fibre recycling line at Camira Yarns, in Huddersfield.” Dr John continues, touching on their future plans, and explaining that the mill will see the repurposing process of textiles into a selection of products including yarn and cloth.

It will be the first traditional wool recycling facility in the UK since the last Yorkshire mill closed its doors in 2000, representing a huge step towards circularity for the industry. “This is pioneering stuff in so many ways,” reiterates Dr John, “and we’ll not always get it right, but importantly, we should continue trying!”

It’s a huge task, but after our visit it is one we can confidently say is in safe hands with iinouiio. “I was too scared of being in a rocking chair as a sad old man, telling people what I could have done, but didn’t” Dr John explains, expanding on what has drawn him back to the industry time after time. “Whatever I do or don’t achieve with iinouiio, it will certainly not be for the sake of trying..."

"As we say here, it is not over until it is over.”