Oki, Teijin Fibers Ltd and Chikuma & Co, Japan announced that OKI is recycling its uniforms by collecting used uniforms and restoring the fabric. Disposed uniforms are reincarnated into polyester fabric through a complete recycling system called Eco Circle based on Teijin Fibers’ fiber-to-fiber technology. Chikuma will then sew the fabric to a fully recycled uniform and provide it back to the OKI Group, which will enable OKI to recycle uniforms over and over again.
OKI provides uniforms to its employees at its plants and those in administrative positions. By March 2009, the OKI Group plans to recycle approximately 2000 uniforms, equivalent to a gross weight of 1.2 tons. Recycling uniforms will generate less CO2 than disposing of them and making new uniforms from petroleum products. Therefore, OKI will be reducing approximately 3.7 tons of CO2 through uniform recycling.
The completely recycled OKI uniforms will have “eco-marks” sewed onto them to qualify them as meeting the criteria for used clothes by the Japan Environment Association. OKI Group will appropriately recycle used uniforms as resources by adopting widely the uniform recycling program and leveraging the waste treatment scheme operated by Chikuma.
