Out with the old, in with the new: Recycled cashmere
Cashmere, alongside silk, is the most noble fiber that has fascinated people for thousands of years. We all love its soft and warming qualities. At SoSUE, the collection always includes trendy knitwear made of cashmere or with a high cashmere content. What is special about it is that the largest share consists of reused cashmere.
If you ask fashion professionals in which country they would have their cashmere knitwear produced, the answer is always Italy. Here, a very innovative and creative cashmere production has been established that excites fashion manufacturers worldwide. SoSUE is no different. We have found a producer who recycles used cashmere. For our Black Label Luxury Cashmere Collection, SoSUE uses this post-consumer cashmere.
How does it work? The cashmere yarn is isolated, processed, re-spun, and finished from the worn pieces. What is special about this cashmere is that it is not a completely smooth yarn fiber, but it is a bit roughened or, as experts say, "brushed." It feels a bit like boucle yarn. To give the yarn additional strength, recycled polyamide is also added. For the spinning mill, this is a complex and challenging process.
Recycling cashmere: collecting, recovering, and reusing
The recycled cashmere yarns from Lineapiù Italia are GRS-certified (Global Recycled Standard). This guarantees that the recycled textiles meet important ecological and social standards. The company from Florence, which also produces yarns for Max Mara and Hermès, has invested a lot of time and passion in research and developed a new production process to ensure that collecting, cleaning, and reprocessing the secondary material works flawlessly. In the end, fashion companies have a high-quality cashmere yarn available that possesses all the classic qualities we love about cashmere.
For Alessandro Bastagli, President of Lineapiù Italia, this is a responsible and conscious development to reduce the environmental impact of textile production. The Italians rely on the oldest production method in the world, which today is again one of the most modern: collecting, recovering, and reusing.
Post-consumer cashmere has all the qualities we love about cashmere
Photos: Lineapiù Italia