Ethical Fashion Group in the United Kingdom plans to convert waste into H2 to be used for energy.

As the demand for more efficient and sustainable energy grows, companies across the world are devising inventive ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Some of these creative approaches are in hydrogen fuel production – exploring not just its clean energy potential, but also how to produce it in unique and efficient ways. Thinking outside the box could have a major impact on our ability to reduce emissions and shift towards entirely green sources of energy.

One British fashion company is partnering with an H2 firm to turn its waste into renewable energy.

Ethical Fashion Group (EFG) in the United Kingdom has partnered with Hydrogen Utopia International to develop and implement what the fashion company is calling a ground-breaking solution to the pollution generated by its industry. 

The collaboration will offer clothing manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to take steps to overcome some of the environmentally unfriendly processes and practices associated with the products they make wholly or in part from non-recyclable plastics such as polyester and polyamides. This will involve hydrogen fuel production.

The EFG, which was co-founded by Harold Tillman CBE, currently pairs 60,000 fashion businesses across 140 countries with sustainable suppliers. As a part of this new partnership, it will also be working with Electron Thermal Processing and Linde plc as strategic partners.

The goal is to use waste to hydrogen fuel production to greatly reduce the industry’s environmental impact.

The clothing industry is among the highest polluters on the planet, following the oil and gas sector. Every day, that industry produces an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste, according to EFG data. Most clothing is produced using refinery-derived materials such as polyester, polyamides, or various blends of the two. 

The new partnership will redirect that non-recyclable waste so that it can be used as a part of the production of hydrogen fuel, instead of sending it directly to landfills.

“It is a huge honor to win the support of Mr Harold Tillman for the work being carried out by HUI,” said Hydrogen Utopia International founder and chief executive Aleksandra Binkowska. “Consumers are dressing themselves in plastic, often without knowing it, by buying over one trillion items of clothing a year that are destined to end up in incinerators or landfill sites. Our Fashion Pollution Solution will give manufacturers access for the first time to technology that turns these items into road-fuel quality hydrogen fuel that will power the next generation of carbon-free vehicles. As Seneca said “Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity” and this is why I believe Mr Tillman and HUI are a perfect match.”

“The technology developed by Hydrogen Utopia means that, for the first time ever, the fashion industry can be part of the solution to the epidemic of plastic pollution facing the planet, rather than part of the problem,” added Tillman. “After a lifetime in the fashion industry, I am passionate about the urgent need for clothing manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to address the environmental damage they cause, and to embrace ethical and sustainable production. The Ethical Fashion Group helps them do this and this strategic partnership with HUI has the potential to transform the global clothing industry by tackling our addiction to plastic products.”

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