Perry Ellis Taps Recover on Men’s Jeans Made With Recycled Cotton

May 21, 2023

Perry Ellis is the latest lifestyle label to bring Recover's recycled fibers to its denim offering.

The brand has teamed with the Spanish material innovator to add "eco-denim" to its assortment using Recover's low-impact recycled cotton. The spring capsule features 10 men's jeans made with 20 percent Recover fibers, which are derived from multiple textile waste streams. In 10 slim and skinny silhouettes ranging from dark blue indigo to medium and light washes, along with white denim, each style retails for $98.

"This partnership underscores our dedication to collaborating on sustainability solutions," Perry Ellis International president and CEO Oscar Feldenkreis said, noting how the collaboration helps "reduce our fashion carbon footprint."

Recover CEO Alfredo Ferre said the recycled cotton company supports the "iconic brand" on its sustainability journey. "As the ingredient brand of reference in recycled cotton, we show once again with this collection that style and sustainability are definitely a perfect match," Ferre added.

In recent months, Recover has taken on partnerships with a number of global brands and retailers, from Germany's C&A to American enterprises like Land's End, Fruit of the Loom and Tillys. The group also signed a contract with Spanish fabric mill Evlox, which counts denim players like Unspun, Diesel, Guess and Isabel Marant among its clientele, in May.

The appetite for certified, traceable recycled fibers is taking hold across the industry, with brands and suppliers looking to incorporate low-impact raw materials into their product lines. Hawk-eyed investors are taking note; last summer, Recover was granted a $100-million minority capital investment by Goldman Sachs’ sustainability investing business and the company's majority shareholder, Story3 Capital Partners. Sources close to the deal said it puts Recover's valuation at more than $1 billion.

Recover's RDenim recycled cotton fiber is made using both pre- and post-consumer denim, derived from scraps from the denim supply chain as well as discarded garments. The material contains traces of other fibers like polyester and viscose, and is mixed with new staple fibers to ensure longevity and durability.

Madrid-based Recover partners with Pakistan's Artistic Denim Mills to develop the recycled fabric, vertically integrating its fiber production operations with ADM's denim mill. The two firms launched a strategic, multi-year partnership last fall to scale their output. According to Recover's 2022 sustainability reporting, Recover recycled cotton products, including RDenim, saved upwards of 32 billion liters of water compared to conventional processing methods.

Family run since 1947, the Goldman Sachs-backed Spanish firm opened its second global outpost in Bangladesh in 2022. According to Recover, new hubs are planned for Vietnam, India, Turkey, Brazil, Central America and Mexico as it invests in expanding its recycling capacities and reach. "We want to achieve maximum output by being where the waste is, thereby close to both supply and demand and reducing simultaneously our carbon footprint," it said.

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