Helsinki start-up New Standard launches lower-emissions T-shirts

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 20, 2022

A Helsinki-based new brand is targeting a major drop in the fashions sector’s emissions as it launches 100% recycled T-shirts.

New Standard said it recycles the textile industry's cutting waste into new clothes with a 50% smaller carbon footprint than making the same garments from virgin materials. It “sees transforming the fashion system as necessary to face humanity's greatest challenges and is on a mission to drive the change”.

The start-up “recycles cotton waste from the textile industry into building blocks of a wardrobe that stand the test of time”.

That comes as Earth Day is marked this Friday and as McKinsey  research shows the fashion industry accounts for around 4% of global emissions. More than 70% of these emissions come from upstream operations – particularly energy-intensive raw material production.

New Standard co-founder and CEO Eetu Valjakka said: “The global textile industry consumes 27 billion kilograms of cotton annually. However, approximately 15% of it goes to waste. We want to save as much of this valuable raw material as possible.

“The carbon footprint of manufacturing our T-shirt is 1.1 kilograms – 50% less than making the same product from virgin materials. We also use 99.9% less water.”

The company also said it’s not “chasing trends or designing for seasons” and prefers to focus on “perfecting a permanent collection of 100% recycled essentials”. It added that its clothes “are inspired by yesterday, designed for now, and constructed for the future. Our approach weaves style, comfort, and quality together with responsible practices”.

Valjakka  also said the brand “was founded on the idea of change, and part of its ethos is the belief that everyone can make a difference. To empower people to critically assess consumption decisions and demand more from their clothes, the upstart transparently discloses its products' supply chain and environmental impact in labels and web shop. Information is power, and if you ask me, the power belongs to consumers. It's time for fashion to stop hiding behind the smoke and mirrors and let people truly choose for themselves”.

But he also insisted that “the world can't shop its way out of the climate crisis” and that "we don't want anyone to buy our clothes unless they need them. Instead, we want to help people to reduce, reuse and recycle”.

Pre-sale of the T-shirts starts on Wednesday at wearenewstandard.com.