100% recycled raincoats! Yes, but how?

At Flotte, the selection of materials is at the heart of every development.

Our credo: use recycled materials to reduce pollution.

Our 100% recycled and certified fabric: rPET.

Recovering our plastic waste

Today, plastic production is already worth 320 million tons and is expected to double by 2034. That's huge!  While plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to decompose in nature, only less than half are recycled. So, in order to reduce the production of plastic waste, Flotte has turned to rPET, a more responsible and sustainable alternative. 

Our rainwear is essentially made from recycled bottles, food packaging and clothing. They do not contain any harmful substances and are manufactured under healthy and fair working conditions.

In 2021, Flotte has repurposed 700,000 plastic bottles by transforming them into raincoats.

What is rPET?

Essentially derived from the recycling of used bottles, food packaging and used clothing, rPET (or recycled polyester) is simply the fruit of this recycling, brought back to the state of fiber to be reused.

How does it work?

After being collected, the bottles and plastic waste are sorted and washed before being crushed and transformed into granules. Following this recycling process, a 100% recycled textile fiber can be manufactured: rPET.

This material ages slowly and is resistant to UV rays and weathering. A true eco-friendly alternative, rPET is comparable in quality to regular polyester and nylon.

Fun Fact: it takes the equivalent of 12 bottles of water to make the Amelot model and 16 to create a Belleville sweater!

A virtuous circle 

The higher the proportion of recycled polyester in the industry, the greater the virtuous effect on environmental protection and respect. Indeed, the increase in the share of rPET mechanically leads to a decrease in the consumption of new PET.

This solution requires optimization of the entire chain, starting with waste sorting. The objective is to transform our household waste into a source of high value-added raw material.

A real gesture for the planet, the production of rPET limits greenhouse gas emissions and saves up to 60% of energy. Recycled, but also recyclable, rPET is part of a zero waste and circular economy approach. Reusing what exists is the mission we have set ourselves.

Some interesting facts about rPET:

• Recycling one ton of rPET containers saves 7.4 cubic meters of landfill space
• Half a kilo of rPET used reduces energy consumption by 84% and greenhouse gases by 71%.
• When you recycle 1 plastic bottle, you save 6 hours of energy from a 60-watt light bulb
• 90% less water is used to make recycled polyester than virgin polyester
• 70 billion plastic bottles are landfilled each year worldwide
• Plastic bottles in U.S. landfills could wrap around the earth 5 times
• It takes over 500 years for plastic bottles in landfills to decompose