On the 29th September, John Lewis is thrilled to launch a circular unisex knitwear collection made from reclaimed and repurposed wool. The collection features preloved wool clothing donated through John Lewis’ FashionCycle, as well as other UK takeback schemes, which have been converted into new garments using only UK manufacturers.
The 19 piece colourful collection is made up of five unique jumper designs as well as a striped rib beanie in three colourways and a knitted scarf all created from 100% recycled wool. Prices start from £49 for a Beanie and go up to £199 for our Fairisle Crew Jumper. Each piece is lovingly individually numbered by hand.
Megan Lovesey, John Lewis Knitwear Buyer said, “We’re so excited to introduce what we believe is a first among major UK high street retailers, combining expert craftsmanship with customer donations to create a collection that continues our circular journey. I know our customers will love the collection not only for the environmental impact but also for the carefully considered and playful design of each piece. This collection is not only kind to our planet but one that champions great British manufacture and craft, which we aim to continue supporting in the future.”
Working with British wool recycler, iinouiio, the Closed Loop Initiative pushes boundaries in terms of design and craftsmanship, featuring statement colours without re-dyeing wool. The pieces are also knitted seamlessly on specialist circular machines, reducing production waste, and designed for further recyclability at end-of-life, minimising the environmental impact of each product.
Dr. John G. Parkinson, iinouiio co-founder said, “Some people would interpret the materials that we work with at iinouiio as ‘waste’, but we’ve never thought so. Instead, we think of them as ‘raw materials’, too often limited by our skills and imagination. Our collaboration with John Lewis develops this idea into action with a unique initiative for retailing in the UK. We’re incredibly excited to see the collection land in shops and online.”
Bernie Thomas, Circular Economy and Sustainability Manager, SATCoL said, “We are honoured to play a role in this groundbreaking ‘ReMade in Britain’ collaboration. Closed Loop is more than an initiative – it proves that British fashion businesses can lead the circular economy – transforming worn clothing and textiles into stunning new products, ready to begin their life all over again.”
The circular journey
Step one: My John Lewis members drop off their pre-loved garments in any John Lewis shop to be resold or recycled using our FashionCycle scheme.
Step two: John Lewis’ FashionCycle partner, Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL), then collects and sorts the garments which are suitable for recycling, using their leading Fibresort Technology to separate the wool fibres.
Step three: Once the wool garments are sorted, they travel to iinouiio, an expert textile recycler in Yorkshire, where they are cleaned, pulled, colour-matched and combined with other waste wool to prepare them for re-spinning.
Step four: Z. Hinchcliffe & Sons, our yarn spinners, then transform the recycled fibres into new recycled wool yarn by blending bespoke shades, spinning, twisting, and waxing.
Step 5: Expert knitters, Skinwear Ltd, knit the new yarn using waste-reducing circular knitting machines, individually hand-numbering each unique piece they create.
The Closed Loop Initiative will be available online at johnlewis.com and in six John Lewis shops (Oxford Street, Peter Jones, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Leeds, Cribbs Causeway) at the end of September.
