Coloreel launches 100% recycled embroidery thread

Swedish textile innovation brand Coloreel has launched a recycled polyester thread that is made entirely of recycled PET bottles from the post-consumer waste stream.

Coloreel’s environmentally friendly move was undertaken in partnership with Madeira, the world’s largest thread manufacturer, in order to reduce its environmental impact even further.

Coloreel will transition to offering 100% recycled polyester thread for use with the instant thread coloring technology for embroideries, in accordance with the company’s objective to deliver more sustainable and innovative embroidery solutions. Customers will be able to make more environmentally friendly embroideries with thousands of colors that are CMYK, RGB/HEX, and PMS compatible.

The polyester thread is made entirely of recycled post-consumer PET bottles and has passed all industry-standard quality testing. It has the same fastness properties as virgin polyester thread and is certified Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex.

The recycled thread will be sold in sets of 6 x 10-kilometer thread reels. The thread cone is constructed from recycled plastics and will be packaged and transported in recycled carton boxes, with the goal of reducing environmental impact even more.

Torbjörn Bäck, CEO Coloreel, said that this transition to using 100 percent recycled polyester thread in their instant thread coloring technology is a great step forward in Coloreel’s quest to promote sustainability. This gives their clients a more environmentally friendly embroidery option and overcomes the problem of a scarcity of recycled polyester thread in a wide range of colors.

Coloreel received a Fashion Innovation Award earlier this month for its fast thread coloration technology.

Coloreel’s embroidery technique allows for on-demand coloration of textile thread, assisting the textile industry in moving toward more sustainable production. There is no effluent, and thus no contamination because the thread is dyed directly.