Case Study

I:CO is aiming for total upcycling to create products of the same or higher value.
To achieve this, I:CO supports research and knowledge-sharing in relation to upcycling innovations. Their work follows a 5 step process:

1. Collection:
Customers bring their end-of-life textiles and used shoes to a retail partner in exchange for a redemption voucher.

2. Logistics:
I:CO containers are collected from the retail business within 24 hours of being full and brought to the nearest sorting plant.

3. Sorting:
In the I:CO sorting and recycling plant, the textiles and shoes are sorted and evaluated against over 400 different criteria.

4. Upcycling:
End-of-life textiles and shoes can be fully recycled to that of equal / better quality product; materials can circulate indefinitely.

5. Rewear:
Clothing that is still suitable for wear is marketed worldwide as second-hand goods.