In an effort to make sustainable clothing, the US-based apparel start-up Coaltree has introduced a new line of shirts called ‘The Switchback Shirt’.
The shirt is made of yarns that are obtained from waste plastic bottles and iced coffee grounds. The yarn, reportedly, is first extracted from plastic bottles by converting them into plastic flakes. These flakes are then mixed with iced coffee grounds that are crushed to microscopic levels and then converted into yarns by applying heat.
The yarns are then dyed with a special CO2 vapour that contains the pigment. This allows the process of dyeing to completely eliminate the use of water while keeping the colour of the shirt intact.
On an average, one shirt requires 3 cups of iced coffee worth of grounds and around 10 recycled plastic bottles to make. The fabric is highly breathable and provides UV protection to the wearer by filtering out harmful UV rays. The shirt is also stain-, wrinkle- and odour-resistant making it a perfect match for day-to-day use.
Coaltree had started a Kickstarter campaign in March to raise funds for production of The Switchback Shirt and has raised around US $ 109,492 against their original goal of US $ 50,000. The production is set to start by May and Coaltree will start shipping them by September this year.
