Recycling is not the Solution. It is the LAST OPTION. 回收不过是无奈之选。
不想穿的衣服，你会怎么处理呢？
What do you do with unwanted clothing?
也许你已和其他环保时尚达人一起，把自己的旧爱带到了我们的换衣派对；也许你曾把它们丢进“旧衣新生”桶里，时装店、或是你家小区的收集箱中。如果你做到了，先给你点个赞！
You can take some of your past favorites to a Swapping Party like other conscious fashionistas, or may take the effort to carry them to one of our RE:FORM boxes, in addition to dropping them off at fashion retailers collection boxes or designated points in your local community. If this is something that you currently do, well done!
但这样就够了吗？
But is it enough?
我们一直在问自己这个问题，也希望大家能一起来思考：
We have been asking ourselves and want to encourage you to think about the following question too:
纺织废品的问题可以仅仅通过回收解决吗？
Can we lift the weight of textile waste through recycling alone?
（被染料污染的河流，浙江）
大家都知道回收纺织品能带来诸多环境效益：节约原始纤维，减少能源和水的消耗，避免垃圾填埋场堆积如山（近期报告称，在美国，每年至少有1280万吨纺织品废弃物被扔到垃圾填埋场；而在中国，这个数字要翻一倍，更准确地说是2600万吨）。
You may know about the environmental benefits of textile recycling: it saves virgin fibers, reduces consumption of energy and water, and avoids piling up waste in landfills (latest report in the U.S. shows that at least 12.8 million tons of textile waste ends up in landfills each year; while in China, the number is more than doubled - 26 million tons to be precise).
也许，这些也是你开始回收的动力所在。
Perhaps that's why you do it in the first place?
无法挽救的局面：
An irretrievable problem:
然而，事实是冷酷的：回收和重复使用并不能解决这个问题
Unfortunately, the cold hard truth is: reusing and recycling don’t and will not solve the problem.
“再利用”、“修复”、“回收”这类办法可能适用于金属制品——它可以耐受多次融化、变形，而其化学和物理属性不会受到改变。然而，由于纺织品的原料来自动物、植物、矿物、合成纤维等，要做到真正的回收就不那么容易了。
The idea of ‘reusing’, ‘recovering’ and ‘recycling’ is a possibility with metals, which can be re-melted and change form many times without altering its chemical and physical qualities. However, for textiles made from various materials: animal, plant, mineral, synthetic, etc, this is unfortunately not as easy.
首先，将不同材质的衣物分类就很难。现今的时装布料由一系列混合物构成，包括尼龙和聚酯类在内的合成纤维——其本质上是一种塑料，和棉花、羊毛或者麻布等天然原料相比，需要用不同的处理方法。从经济成本角度来看，合成纤维毫无疑问不如棉或者羊毛那么有价值，所以它常常不受重视。
To start with, sorting out different garments is difficult. Modern-day clothing constitutes a range of mixes, including synthetic fibers such as nylon and polyester, which are essentially a type of plastic that requires different processing methods compared to natural materials like cotton, wool or linen. In terms of financial incentive, synthetic fibers unsurprisingly aren’t as valuable as cotton or wool, which is why they are often overlooked.
从制造加工的角度来讲：要想将旧布料转变一新，得先把它绞碎成为原始纤维。使用机械切布机会缩短纤维的长度，而这是决定布料强度和柔软度的关键。因此，这类搅碎后的纤维在质量上会大打折扣，通常会制成厨房抹布、地毯、汽车隔离填料，或者座位填充物等，这种回收方式被称为“降级回收”。
From a manufacturing perspective, in order to transform an old piece of cloth to new it has to be shredded into small pieces and turned into raw fibers. Mechanical shredding reduces the staple length of the fibers, which is the key attribute to determine textile strength and softness. As a result, these shredded fibers degrade in quality, and are usually used for making kitchen cloths, rugs, car insulations or seat fillings, etc, which is commonly referred to as ‘downcycling’ or ‘cascading’.
你也可以通过扫描下方二维码观看整部纪录片(时长13分钟)，了解印度工厂处理从各国回收旧衣物的方式。
You can also watch UNRAVEL, the short-documentary film (13-minutes) about how one factory in India deals with all the clothing waste they receive from different countries, by scanning the QR code below.
服装零售商的回收到底效率如何？
How effectively do retailers recycle?
2013年，全球第二大服装零售商H&M首创了旧衣回收计划。这场运动的辐射面覆盖全球——顾客们可以在它全球3800家分店找到回收箱。
In 2013, customers of H&M, the world’s second largest clothing retailer, started seeing recycling boxes at its 3,800 stores worldwide - a global movement propelled by its pioneering garment collecting initiative.
自计划发起之日到2016年11月份，据悉H&M已经回收了将近39000吨衣物，如果不和它的生产规模相比的话，这似乎是很客观的数量。然而，根据《卫报》的推算，H&M能够在2天内生产1000吨服装，而处理同样数量的废弃旧衣却需要花上12年的时间。
Between then and November 2016, it is said to have collected almost 39,000 tons of garments, which appears to be a significant amount compared to its production size. The Guardian calculated and published that H&M is capable of pumping out 1,000 tons clothes in 2 days, but processing that much amount of waste would take 12 years.
即使是对于一家如此大规模的公司而言，要达到这个目标也是具有挑战性的。通过仔细查看H&M在过去两年里所发布的可持续发展报告，我们发现2015年（PDF）和2016年（PDF）的回收材料的使用百分比有出入——2015年的回收原料利用率到底是1%还是0.5%呢？
For a company the size of H&M, accurately tracking progress can also be challenging. After scanning through H&M’s last two publicized Sustainability Reports we found a mismatch in the percentage recycled materials used in 2015 (PDF) and 2016 (PDF) - see images below taken from these reports. This leads us to beg the questions, what was the recycled material percentage used in 2015? 1% or 0.5%?
H&M 可持续性发展报告 2015 vs 2016
H&M Sustainability report 2015 vs 2016
在图表旁边有一栏字体较小的脚注：“经过使用更详细的新系统，历史数据已被更新……偏差来自四舍五入后的结果 。” 也许这是一个无心之过，但是广告中出现误导信息就需另当别论了。
In a small footnote next to the chart, we read: “Historical data has been updated using a new, more detailed system… Deviations are due to rounding effects.” While this is perhaps an honest mistake, misleading advertising is not.
去年5月，H&M发起了首个“世界回收周”，并邀请了流行歌手M.I.A主演宣传片，短片中说道：“世界上95%被丢弃的衣服可以获得重生”，但是却没有指出，在一般情况、或者用他们的方式，能够获得重生并被再次利用的纺织品其实少之又少。
H&M launched its first World Recycle Week in May 2016 featuring pop star M.I.A, in which it claims: “95% of textiles thrown away worldwide could get a second life”, but it failed to mention how few textiles did get a second life in general context or within their own practice.
正如绿色和平组织在“时尚排毒”活动的新闻稿中写道：“H&M的回收周实际上是一个 ‘幻想周’，因为仅有1%的回收衣物可被作为再生纤维使用。”
Greenpeace, in a press release for their Detox My Fashion campaign, commented: “H&M’s Recycling Week is in reality a week of illusions since only 1% of collected clothing can be used as recycled fibers.”
值得一提的是，H&M的确尝试将服装制造业引向更环保、更可持续的发展方向，但实践中，仍有很大改进余地。不仅如此，这番良苦用心的努力还会成为购物的动力，彭博社就称赞了这一商业模式——因为顾客可以通过回收衣物获得各种奖励和折扣券，这可能会促使他们花更多钱购物。当然，也会浪费更多。
It is worth noting that H&M is indeed trying to steer the industry into a greener and more sustainable one, their Global Change Award to reward innovations in the industry being one such example, but there is still plenty of space for improvement. What’s more, the well-intentioned efforts may well-become purchasing incentives, as Bloomberg commented, customers might even spend more since they get rewards and discount coupons to recycle their clothing and thus, waste more.
用科技试水的零售企业
Testing the water with technology
我们一直在问自己这个问题，也希望
紧随H&M的脚步， Zara, 美国鹰牌、乐斯菲斯等世界时装零售商也开始旧衣回收，而一些牛仔服装零售商则把目光放在一些初露头角的技术手段上。
Following H&M’s lead, other fashion retailers such as Zara, American Eagle Outfitters, The North Face, have also started collecting used garments,. In addition, a few jean brands have been researching new fiber recycling technologies.
（Zara门店内衣物回收箱）
上文中已经提到，纺织品回收通常会降低材料质量，也叫做“降级回收”。但是就在去年，坐标西雅图的初创企业Evrnu表示，他们已经开发出一套全新的纤维溶解技术，能够用其轻松熔化回收的旧衣。
As mentioned above, textile recycling usually uses degraded materials, which means the process involves ‘down cycling’. However, just last year, the Seattle-based start-up Evrnu is said to have developed a brand-new fiber dissolving technology that can help recycle clothes as easily as melting it.
2016年6月，Evrnu和李维斯公司合作，用了大约5件废弃棉衬衫制成了第一条牛仔裤样品，李维斯将这次成果称作是旧物回收再利用的“突破性创新”。尽管该公司在制作该样品的时候没有使用100%的再生材料，但表示他们所采用的方法比原棉产品要少消耗98%的水，与聚酯生产相比，能够减少90%的二氧化碳排放量，此外，有了可重复利用的化学溶解剂的加持，回收和生产过程能够真正实现闭环运作。
In June, 2016, Evrnu made its first jean prototype with Levi’s using approximately 5 discarded cotton shirts, which was described by Levi’s as a ‘breakthrough innovation’ in post-consumer recycling. Although the company has yet to use 100% recycled materials in the prototyping stage, it said that their practice uses 98% less water than virgin cotton products, and reduces CO2 emissions by 90% compared to standard polyester production. Even chemicals are reused for dissolving, creating a solution where the recycling and manufacturing process can truly be turned into a closed loop.
李维斯并非唯一一家在这方面进行探索的公司。在过去几年，G-Star Raw（荷兰牛仔装零售商）在推出“原始海洋”（Raw for the Oceans）系列的时候就开始关注水环境污染问题，并承诺在不久的将来会把从海洋中回收上来的塑料废弃物用于所有的产品。与此同时，设计师品牌AG牛仔裤和臭氧技术公司合作推出了一套全新的生产方法，制作牛仔布的传统方法是通过大量清洗去除多余的靛蓝染料，而AG新的生产方式是干法工艺，能够节省大量的水和能源。最近，阿迪达斯利用从海洋回收上来的塑料垃圾制成新鞋，引发不小的轰动。
Levi’s is not the brand testing new recycling technology. In the past few years, G Star Raw has focused on aquatic waste with its Raw for the Oceans line, and pledges to include recycled ocean plastic in all of their products in the near future. Meanwhile, designer brand AG jeans partnered up with Ozone Technology to reduce the amount of water and dye in the dying process, creating a dry dying process to save water and energy. More recently, Adidas has been making waves with their new shoe made from recovered ocean plastic.(G-Star RAW for the oceans campaign with Pharrel)
然而，这也引出两个迫切需要解决的问题：这些企业以及其他迫切希望加入行列的公司能否弥合希望与现实之间的差距？技术能否赶得上日益增长的需求？还需拭目以待。
However, two immediate questions emerge on this front: Can and the companies and those that aspire to join them close the gap between hope and practice? Can technology catch up with the growing demand?
你能做什么
How you can help
作为消费者，唯一的方式就是养成理性消费行为，记住3R定律: Reduce（减少）、Reuse（再利用）、Recycle（回收），鼓励人们少买、买好的和环保商品。
1. 买你所需 Buy what you need
如果你参加过“13变31”挑战活动，用13件衣服设计出31天的日常服装，你很可能会发现，你实际所需要的衣服数量远少于预期的数量。我们不是在要求你一件衣服穿一辈子。但是如果你关心环境问题，那么请理性消费，按需购买，充分利用。
If you participated in the 13-in-31 challenge to design your daily wardrobe with only 13 pieces for 31 days, you’ve probably figured out that you need much less clothing than you previously anticipated. The next time you see that shirt or dress on sale through the glass window, think whether it would end up becoming another ‘extra’ piece in your closet, and/or if you want to go into the store just because of the sale. We are not asking you to wear what you are wearing for the rest of your life, but if you want to care about the environment, buy necessities and cherish them.
2. 为质量买单 Pay for good quality
通常情况下，质量越好的衣服，越是耐穿。如果一件售价100块人民币的衬衣是由90%的涤纶，10%的棉制成，而且很可能使用劣质染料印染，这种质量的衬衣很快就会磨损。但是如果一件衬衣的价格高出好几倍，使用公平贸易棉和有机染料制成，毫无疑问能够穿很长时间。
When you buy higher quality clothes, it is more likely that you are going to wear it for longer. A shirt that costs 100RMB gets worn out rather quickly if it’s made from 90% polyester, 10% cotton, and possibly poor-quality dyes. When you pay for a shirt that costs more, and is made from Fairtrade cotton and organic dyes, it will undoubtedly last longer.
所以在挑选衣服的时候，多花点时间看看价格标签和原料标签，不仅可以帮你节省生活开支，而且还能为保护环境出一分力，这比回收来得更有效，何乐而不为呢？我们也希望看到更多带有来源或者产品故事标签的衣服。时尚革命最近发起了一场名为“whomademyclothes”的活动
Spending more time on making smart choices (read both price tag and material tag) will not only help you to reduce your cost of living, it is also helping the environment by creating a solution that recycling never could. We should also hope to have more clothes with a story that goes further than the source or price tag.. Fashion revolution was recently running a campaign called #whomademyclothes
3. 支持环保品牌 Support ethical brands
近年来，很多可持续发展的服装公司纷纷在中国涌现，让消费者可以买得放心用得舒心。（1331挑战活动列出了上海12家崇尚可持续发展理念的品牌 ）沉浸在可持续发展理念的时尚潮流中，需谨记：首先买你所需，然后才是为好质量买单，和支持环保品牌。
In recent years many sustainable apparel companies have popped up in China to give you a chance to buy quality products and feel good about it. (See our partners from the 1331-challenge’s list of12 sustainable brands in Shanghai) Do what you can to get immersed in the world of sustainable fashion, but first remember: First buy less, then buy better and ethical.
当你发现不再想穿某件衣物的时候，想想如何重复利用。把不需要的衣物捐给慈善机构，卖给别人，或者和别人交换。无论是商家为了鼓励消费所发放的打折优惠券，还是活动上提供的免费T恤或者帆布包，必要的时候要学会拒绝。把磨损的牛仔裤修一修，或者用创意的方式重新改造，让其改头换面。
If you find that you don’t need a piece of clothing anymore, think about how to reuse it. Give clothing that you don’t need to charities. Sell it or swap it. Refuse, where necessary – be it a discount voucher encouraging you to buy more clothes, a free t-shirt, or a canvas bag at an event. Repair your jeans or repurpose them in a creative way.
请谨记一点：回收不是解决问题的方法，它不过是没有选择的选择罢了。
Lastly and most importantly, understand that recycling is not a solution – it is simply the last resort.
以上文章由绿色倡议志愿者Yaling Jiang和Nicolas Huppenbauer编写。
The above article was researched and written by Green Initiatives' Community Volunteers Yaling Jiang & Nicolas Huppenbauer.
Yaling说“女生热爱快消品牌 - 打折，促销，廉价，同时又能作为高端品牌的替代品。我也曾经热衷于此。但是我们必须清楚的意识到问题的源头并且共同努力让这些大公司承担起社会责任。同时，我希望能够将新科技带入讨论中 - 让我对衣物回收的未来抱有希望。”
On why Yaling worked on this piece she says, "Girls love fast fashion brands - we fall for the price, the sale and accessible spinoffs from high fashion. I've been there. But it's important for us (guys, too) to see where the source of the problem is, and make collective efforts to keep these big brands accountable; at the same time, I also want to shed light on new technology in the sphere- something that brings me optimism about the future of textile recycling."
Nicolas说“我觉得有很多的时间和金钱浪费在了无用的解决方案上。我想知道关于衣物回收的关键问题而为这篇文章做研究时让我了解了许多: 回收并不是目前解决垃圾问题的最好方案。我希望这篇文章能够提供一些新的视角并且让更多的人们对衣物回收以及背后的行业利益链条感兴趣。”
On why Nicolas worked on this piece, he says, “I have the feeling a lot of money and time are wasted on solutions that aren't really effective. I wanted to find out what's the matter with recycling and the research for this article gave me a lot of new insights: Recycling is not all for nothing, but still, it's not really an effective solution to the huge waste problem we have. I hope this article can make things clearer for our readers as well and maybe make more people interested in the economy behind our fashion and recycling industries.”
A non-profit organization that promotes awareness, facilitates actions, implements projects, and stimulates change toward sustainable models of growth and consumption.
绿色倡议是一个非盈利性的公益组织，旨在唤醒环保意识。绿色倡议积极开展环保行动，落实环保项目，以创造可持续且环保的发展模式和消费模式。
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