First launched in 2022 by Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporated, Cotton Lives On™ is inviting UK clothing brands and retailers to join its cost-free initiative.

A call-to-action to recycle old cotton and transform it into something new and beneficial, the UK not-for-profit initiative complements the successful US Cotton campaign Blue Jeans Go Green™ which, since its launch in 2006, has recycled over 5.6 million pairs of jeans and diverted over 2,832 tonnes of denim from landfill.

In the UK, following reprocessing where it is transformed into a cotton non-woven, Cotton Lives On™ works with Devon’s natural bedding supplier Naturalmat to turn the unwanted cotton-based garments into mattresses for people at risk of homelessness. These roll mats are distributed by UK charities, Shelter and Single Homeless Project.

 

 

Commenting is Kim Kitchings, Sr. Vice President of Cotton Incorporated.

“We are thrilled to see so much interest and participation in the Cotton Lives On™ recycling programme for 2025. By joining the programme, fashion brands, retailers and consumers can help keep cotton’s circularity going by diverting cotton waste from landfill, while also helping people at risk of homelessness by providing them with a roll mat made from the recycled cotton.”

As garments containing at least 85% cotton are given to the programme for recycling, they are sorted through with buttons, zips and hardware removed before being delivered to a natural cotton fibre reprocessor to begin the transformation. Once reprocessed into a cotton non-woven pad, it is provided to Naturalmat to make roll mats for the programme. To date, the Cotton Lives On™ programme has collected almost 8,000 kg of cotton and given away approximately 100 roll mats.

Each new roll mat contains 6.4kg of unwearable cotton, equivalent to 45 T-shirts. People around the UK at risk of homelessness and living in difficult conditions are gifted the mattresses as part of their first essential products package when moving to a hostel or as part of their new home kit once they have found a more permanent place of residence.

 

 

The Cotton Lives On™ programme’s purpose is simple. It aims to reduce landfill waste and extend the life of old cotton in a way that helps both people and our planet.

Cotton is a natural, durable and recyclable fibre and clothing brands, retailers and consumers can easily divert any kind of unwanted cotton fabrics or garments from landfill by joining the Cotton Lives On™ programme. Every year, £140m worth of clothing is sent to UK landfill and in 2021, 711,000 tonnes of used textiles were discarded in household bins and general waste containers at Household Waste Recycling Centres. Globally, 88% of textiles end up in landfill or go to incineration every year.

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