For over 90 years, Barco has been making quality workwear for healthcare professionals. Its popular collections - Barco One and Skechers scrubs, both available at Work in Style, and many others have been used by doctors, nurses, vets and other clinicians across the world for decades. Recently, Barco has taken a pioneering step in reducing their environmental impact and promoting responsible manufacturing by creating scrubs made from recycled materials – with up to 7 bottles in each garment! But we’re not talking about recycling fabrics; we’re talking about that major scourge on the planet – plastic.
The rise of the plastic blight
The production of large quantities of plastics began following the Second World War. Since then, plastic pollution has become one of the most serious threats to humankind, with around 350 million tonnes of plastic waste being produced by the world each year. It’s in the air, in the soil, in freshwater, in the sea, and it has even been found in our bodies – such is the pervasiveness of this material that it’s even finding its way into our food*.
Plastic pollution is a serious global problem that does irreparable harm to the environment. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, every day, the equivalent of 2,000 rubbish trucks full of plastic ends up in our oceans, lakes, and rivers, poisoning and killing sea life and getting into the food chain. Despite efforts by environmental activists, businesses and individuals to cut down on plastic waste, the amount being produced and discarded is out of control.
Whether it’s water bottles or food containers, packaging or playthings, tons of plastic products find their way into our homes daily. Plastic is convenient, portable, and cheap to produce, which is why it is used for most packaging materials. Indeed, plastic bottles contribute most to the global plastic waste problem because they are often used once and then binned. With over a million plastic water bottles bought every minute, this is not a problem that will be solved overnight – plus, it takes up to 1000 years for plastic bottle waste to degrade.
Barco’s commitment to a greener future
To tackle the plastic pollution problem, we need to reduce our use of plastic bottle waste, but we also need to deal with the mass that exists. In healthcare, where long hours and tough demands are the norm, it’s easy to overlook how workwear impacts the planet. But Barco is leading the charge by creating scrubs that don’t just meet their usual high standards in comfort—they also help reduce plastic waste.
From bottles to scrubs: How Barco makes a difference
Barco is putting some of plastic waste to good use by transforming recycled bottles into fabric for scrubs. It collects plastic waste, which is cleaned, melted, and turned into pellets. Those pellets become yarn, which then becomes fabric. Each Barco One scrub includes five recycled plastic bottles, and each Skechers scrub contains seven recycled plastic bottles.
Barco is making massive inroads into the plastic problem, having recycled over 40 million plastic bottles since 2016. That’s a lot of plastic kept out of oceans and landfills. In addition, this process uses less water, reduces carbon emissions, and saves energy when compared to traditional manufacturing.
Built for comfort, made for the planet
The best part is that even with all that sustainability built into Barco’s scrubs, the comfort and durability that healthcare professionals need haven’t changed. They’re lightweight, breathable, and tough enough to handle long shifts. Healthcare workers put these scrubs to the test daily, which never fail to hold up to the rigorous demands of their profession.
Your choice matters
If you’re in the healthcare industry and care about sustainability and making eco-conscious decisions, now is the time to make a difference. Every scrub made from recycled materials means fewer bottles in landfills. By choosing Barco’s recycled scrubs, you are joining the movement towards a greener future, where caring for the planet is as important as caring for others.
Barco is just one of the many thousands of companies finding innovative ways to supply their customers with the same quality product that they are familiar with and also to use fewer resources or recycle some of the waste we have created in the last several decades. Rather than finding ways to exploit new resources, as was the case only a few generations ago, people and companies are focusing on finding sustainable ways to grow while protecting the planet and the resources we have left. Businesses large and small, all over the globe are operating under this new ethos, and they deserve our support.
So, if you have the opportunity to support the business that supplies your workwear and help recycle some of the masses of waste we have created, without compromising on quality and comfort, then why wouldn’t you?
*Humes, E. Total Garbage; How we can fix our waste and heal our world.