old bottles to new bags
our high-performance x-frame hamper laundry bags are made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, keeping material out of landfills and oceans, and carbon out of the atmosphere.
At simplehuman, we use PCR plastic to reduce our impact on the planet without compromising the high-performance of our products. By upcycling plastic bottles into a high-performing laundry bag, we produce 76%1 less carbon dioxide than if the bag was made with new plastic. Using responsible materials, we’ve created a storage solution for your dirty clothes that is durable, breathable, and waterproof.
Our strong recycled polyester starts as plastic water, soda, and sports bottles. Once collected, the bottles are cleaned thoroughly to remove any traces of the drinks they contained. The bottles are then ground down into plastic flakes, baked to remove any moisture, and melted into a thick slurry. That melted plastic slurry is filtered and pushed through tiny holes. This process produces thin plastic threads similar to fishing line. Those threads are spun and heated until they have our desired flexibility and thickness. Finally, the recycled polyester lines are used to weave the bags for the x-frame hamper.
- (1) Aravin Periyasamy and Jiri Militky, “Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Recycled Polyester” in Environmental Footprints of Recycled Polyester. Subramanian Muthu (Kowloon, Hong Kong, Springer, 2019), 16.
