It is possible to create new cotton fibres by retrieving clothing having reached the end of its life cycle or manufacturing fabric offcuts. It is known as recycled cotton. However, to preserve its durability, these recycled fibres are always mixed with virgin cotton, in other words, which is new.This method, nevertheless, greatly reduces the impact linked to conventional cotton farming because the impact has already taken place.
DECATHLON is continuing its work on the mechanical recycling of cotton. In 2024, the Group sold 113,000 T-shirts from its Men’s Domyos Essentials 500 line containing 30% post-consumer waste that was collected, sorted, disassembled and recycled in Europe. These sales are the result of research and development, together with partnerships conducted by the design teams with European collectors, sorters, recyclers and spinners between 2022 and 2023. In 2025, DECATHLON will extend its use of recycled cotton from post-consumer products to new sports product lines.