15.08.12
New Páramo Recycling Scheme to be launched this September
The new Páramo Recycling Scheme to be launched this September is said to provide a safe route to dispose of unwanted Páramo garments.
Owners can send their old Páramo clothing (all except underwear) to Páramo and the company will either rehome it or recycle it into new fabric, helping to minimise environmental impact. Either way, the ex-owner will receive a discount on new Páramo gear - £50 to spend for any Analogy waterproof sent in and £10 for any other garments.
After being trialled earlier this year, the Páramo Recycling Scheme will be launched in September 2012 and will be open to all Páramo owners – however old or well-used their Páramo garments are.
What will happen to returned garments?
It is always better to re-use rather than recycle, says Páramo, so if a garment can be refurbished, Páramo’s workshop in East Sussex will do the necessary work so that it can go to a new owner.
If a garment is beyond repair, it will be stripped of components and packed up for shipping to a specialist chemical recycling facility able to preserve the quality of the material. This ensures the material doesn't enter a spiral of "downcycling" which eventually ends up in landfill. Old garments will become high quality fabric rather than cheap and disposable cushion filling, says the project.
The Nikwax fabrics that Páramo use are uniquely suited for recycling – the same characteristics that are said to make Páramo waterproofs so long-lived and repairable apparently also make them recyclable with the minimum of problems:
There are no membranes, laminates or taped seams to cause issues and products use 100% polyester which can be taken back to its basic building blocks and reformed into new high quality fibre, rather than being downgraded to cheaper materials.
Why the scheme says to recycle polyester garments:
1. Reduce the need for landfill - creating new landfill sites is increasingly difficult without destroying areas of natural beauty and habitats.
2. Reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Firstly, recycling eliminates the risk of the fabric being incinerated which would release carbon from the material. Secondly, it requires less energy to recycle than to replace polyester with virgin polyester.
3. Reduce demand for the extraction of raw materials by conserving the material already extracted. Crude oil is used to make polyester, extraction of which is laden with environmental risks, so conserving the material already extracted reduces the need for more drilling.
4. The ex-owners earn themselves a reward to invest in a new Páramo.
For maximum environmental benefit, the scheme says that as many Páramo garments as possible need to be diverted from landfill. Hence, Páramo are offering a reward for every old Páramo garment received. Returning a Nikwax Analogy garment will generate a £50 discount on a new item (over £125 RRP). Any other Páramo garment will receive a £10 discount on a new item over £25 RRP. Discounts can be redeemed on Paramo websites or at the Páramo flagship store in Covent Garden.
Recycling a Páramo garment can be done via post, or handed in personally at the Covent Garden shop, the Wadhurst Showroom or at Páramo direct events, accompanied if possible by a form available on the website.
Some previous customers from the trail run said, “I think the scheme is great – products are recycled, the user is incentivised to do so – what’s not to like? Simply download and complete the form, post, and a few days later the voucher drops into your email inbox. I’m an Assessor with Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dogs and have had my Viento Jacket for approximately 10 years and the Cascada Trousers for possibly 8 years,” said Les Telford.
Tony Todd said, “I’m out in all weathers as a motorsports photographer and had replaced my efficient but scruffy old Analogy Jacket with a new one. The old one was hanging forlornly by the back door for occasional use in the garden when the offer arrived. I parcelled it up, sent it back, received my voucher and was in possession of a Taiga Fleece well within a week – and with a considerable discount.”
So, if Páramo owners can bear to part with their old waterproof or shirt that holds so many memories of outdoor adventures and would like to make sure that it has another life and doesn’t end up in landfill, then visit paramo.co.uk/recycle to find out more and download a form.
- Average Article Rating 0 Stars
-
Your Rating
Login Required!
Sorry - You must be a registered user & logged in to rate this.
Login | Register
Back to Categories