When I entered the market in 2006, we had one option: cotton.
T-shirts were made of cotton, and so were polo shirts. There was one exception: sweatshirts that were 80% cotton and 20% polyester.
Entering 2019, nothing is as it was. We now have polyester t-shirts, polyester polo shirts (or cotton-polyester blends), and sweatshirts with decreasing amounts of cotton (we're seeing sweatshirts on the market with as little as 35% cotton). It's starting to become a bit chaotic..
As 2021 approaches, we start flipping through the catalogs. New changes. More and more, we're seeing options in organic cotton, recycled cotton, and recycled polyester. Sustainability and ecology are becoming increasingly important in the market, and promotional textiles are no exception.
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Maudlin Merchandise offers a wide range of eco-friendly clothing, including items made from recycled polyester. These items are extremely interesting because their production largely relies on a significant number of recycled plastic bottles. Each bottle used and recycled means one less bottle ending up in a landfill. Considering that some items use up to 9 recycled bottles, that's great news.
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Brands like B&C have new clothing lines that are entirely eco-friendly, such as sweatshirts made with 80% organic cotton and 20% recycled polyester.
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Sol's also chose to launch ONLY eco-friendly items this year, with a commitment to replace the non-ecological items that were previously in the catalog over the next few years. New brands like Native Spirit - a novelty in the european market - are now revolutionizing the market with entirely eco-friendly lines and very modern cuts.
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In 2021, we opted to add more photovoltaic power to our facilities to increase the use of locally generated energy. We changed our electricity contract so that only 100% green energy is used. A small step toward greater sustainability in textile production.
