Our vision for the future is a world where our people are safe, our planet thrives, and our business continues to produce high quality, minimum-impact products as part of a circular economy. A key element to a circular economy is providing an end-of-life solution for all our products, many of which are textile based.

It’s estimated 180,000 tonnes of textile and clothing waste ends up in New Zealand landfills every year, about 34kg per person. Textiles in landfill produce a disproportionately high amount of CO2 (compared to other waste types), so keeping textiles out of landfills has a significant positive impact on the environment.

How can I keep textile waste out of landfills?

An easy way to keep textile waste out of landfill, is to reuse, or recycle the materials, and there are a number of ways to do so.

For us, partnering with ImpacTex, one of New Zealand’s leading providers of textile recovery and recycling, allows us to keep our end-of-life textiles out of landfill.

We’re able to connect our customers directly with ImpacTex, ensuring you have a sustainable end-of-life solution for not only workwear and PPE, but other textile waste too.

What happens to textiles collected by ImpacTex?

The end-of-life textiles collected by ImpacTex are processed into a rigid board called ReTex, which can be used for many things including signage, giftware, packaging, and acoustic panelling.

This innovative product not only creates a sustainable use for textile waste, but also creates an alternative to products that would end up in landfill such as corflute, polystyrene, and fibreglass.

When ReTex items reach the end of their life, they can reenter the processing machine to become something new, creating a completely circular process.

What impact can textile waste have on my organisation’s sustainability?

Keeping textile waste out of landfill may seem like a small thing, but it has a huge impact. In 2023, Leedsafe diverted 1,000kg of textiles from landfill with ImpacTex, preventing 3,500kg of greenhouse gases from polluting our atmosphere. That’s equivalent emissions of driving an average passenger car 23,905km, or powering 1.9 homes for a year.

ImpacTex Managing Director, Jeff Vollebregt, describes managing used staff uniforms as an easy way for businesses to be more sustainable. “Uniform recycling is a low cost of entry solution that creates a big impact” he says, “and additionally, no business wants to see their brand in a landfill”.

There’s no time like the present to make an impact on your organisation's sustainability, consider:

• What currently happens to our uniforms and PPE when we can’t use them any more?

• Are they ending up in landfill?

• What other small changes could we make that have a big impact?

We’re proud to partner with ImpacTex as we work to make the future of safety sustainable. Do you want to improve your organisation’s sustainability?