The garment covers, given to customers as a complimentary gift with items such as high-end suits, dresses and coats, are available in small, medium and large and each one is made using seven, eight and 12 plastic bottles respectively.
They have been rolled out in-store since the beginning of January and are now available in all Selfridges stores. It is anticipated that the first six months of garment covers will result in more than 222,000 plastic bottles being recycled from post-consumer waste
. Daniella Vega, Selfridges Sustainability Director comments: “As signatories to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Global Commitment on plastics, Selfridges is delighted to support new innovation that slows plastic pollution – and this garment bag is a great way of sharing this message with our customers and brand partners.”
The Jutexpo covers are made from a fabric using 100% recycled plastic bottles and are the first to have the integrity of certification to the Global Recycled Standard (GRS)
. The HALT™ process turns the bottles into a durable and practical fabric called rPet, short for recycled polyethylene terephthalate, which is strong, durable and can be wiped clean
. Robbie McGregor, Director of Jutexpo said: “As far as we are aware, this is the first time in the world that post-consumer plastic bottles have been used to create garment covers, reducing plastic waste and giving plastic bottles another useful purpose rather than ending up in landfill, incineration and uncontrollable waste streams.
“We are delighted to be working with Selfridges on this project, which is tackling the issues around plastic bottles and the ways in which they can be repurposed in a meaningful way.”