Every year, more than 100 billion garments end up in landfills, and Ambercycle creator Shay Sethi aims to revolutionise the recycling of unwanted clothes.
“It’s fantastic stuff. It’s spotless. It isn’t used for anything at all. What are you going to do with it, after all?” Sethi said.
UC Davis scientists develop a method for breaking down garments and extracting polyester from them. The process is known as ambercycling, which derives its name from the transformation of tree sap into amber. Sethi (Sethi): “You can’t expect a solution to be flawless right now. It takes a village to raise a child”
Five years ago, when Sethi and Ahmed were in school, they didn’t understand why no one was doing this, knowing how many people get rid of clothes daily. They took it upon themselves to help the fashion industry using science. It is still in the early stages, only officially getting off the ground in a downtown Los Angeles warehouse in 2019, but the possibilities are endless.
Science motivated Sethi and Ahmed to improve the fashion business. Sethi’s formal name is Sethi Sethi “Sustainability is no longer simply a trendy buzzword. It is critical for not only us, but also for brands, retailers, manufacturers, and everyone else in the garment supply chain.”
