From water bottles to fashion-forward workwear - How Buttercups 2Life Eco fabric is produced

From water bottles to fashion-forward workwear - How Buttercups 2Life Eco fabric is produced


During a time when the climate change crisis has never been more urgent, it’s up to all of us to see what we can do to minimise our impact on the environment – and perhaps find innovative ways to actually improve the situation.

As manufacturers and sellers of workwear, at Buttercups Uniforms we are only too aware of the effect the clothing industry has on the environment. The fashion industry is a massive part of the global economy – but it’s also one of the most harmful to the earth. Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams. And, according to the UNECE 2018 report, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year, while washing some types of clothes sends significant amount of microplastics into the ocean.

So this year we made a conscious decision to find an alternative, a fabric that not only is fully recyclable but is also manufactured out of other common waste – so therefore actually HELPING the issue of landfill. We also wanted to find something that is manufactured in a more sympathetic way than traditional fabrics, using less of the earth’s fast-dwindling natural resources.

The result is our new 2Life ECO fabric, a weave polyester fabric that is 100% recycled and recyclable – and most importantly for our busy clients who need their uniforms to work as hard as they do, 2Life is also incredibly comfortable, durable, easy to care for, and breathable (the Holy Grail when it comes to fabric for workwear).

What makes 2Life so innovative is that every kilogram of fabric is produced from 27 1.5 litre PET mineral water bottles – yes, those water bottles that we throw away every day. 2Life Fabric is also manufactured using 60% less energy than traditional material.

So how exactly do plastic bottles become premium fabric? First the manufacturer collects used bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate, also called PET, which is a type of clear, strong, lightweight and 100% recyclable plastic. These bottles are independently certified post-consumer and collected only in Europe (so therefore adhere to our strict standards). These bottles are then shredded into flakes before being made into pellets and then into the yarn that is weaved to make the 2Life finished product.

This process offers significant environmental savings when compared with the manufacture of traditional polyester – in fact, making 2Life fabric produces 32% less CO2 emissions, uses 60% less energy, and requires 94% less water in the process.

Even better, when you no longer need your 2Life garment, the fabric is 100% recyclable, so it can be made into something brand-new for the next person – no land-fill here!

We hope that you are as excited as we are about our brand-new 2Life fabric. Already customers are raving about the comfort, style and durability of our new 2Life ECO collection – and with more styles on the way, it’s time to discover the 2Life difference today!

Check out our 2Life ECO collection here!

Your Cart

Shipping calculated at checkout