Textile recycling firm Upparel is gearing up to launch its garment collection service in New Zealand, with the business’ B2B offer set to launch on December 1 and its customer-facing solution to launch in early 2022.
Upparel takes unwanted clothing and textiles from consumers and businesses across Australia. 65 per cent of the items received are fit-to-wear and are passed on to charities to help clothe the needy, while the remaining 35 percent is assessed for upcycling into new items, or recycled into new materials.
According to founder Michael Elias, the move was driven by a business partner in Australia needing the service in New Zealand as well. In the last few years, Upparel went from being a completely consumer-facing brand to one that sees 80 percent of its business coming from other companies looking to deal with their own textile waste.
Moving forward, retailers that are using Upparel to donate unwanted textiles will be able to have a dedicated collection bin put in their stores for staff to utilise – diverting unwanted returns, dead or faulty stock, or even customer donations, away from landfill.
