Old tablecloths become new clothes

What do you actually do with stained, old, worn-out tablecloths with too many service passes on your CV? You make chef's coats out of them. Together with textile service provider Elis, Segers is testing a new upcycle project with textiles that have previously lived a different life. Test pilot Paul Svensson has tried it and gives it a thumbs up!

Life in a restaurant can be tough – even for a tablecloth. Spills, tight washing schedules and many transports take a toll on textiles and they don't last forever. But now there is a chance for worn-out tablecloths to make a comeback in the restaurant and at the same time reduce the industry's environmental impact. Together with textile service provider Elis, Segers has carried out a project to make new clothes from old worn-out tablecloths. Upcycling instead of recycling. It's about new restaurant clothing that has previously lived a life as a tablecloth.

– Making new clothes from old tablecloths actually goes against all processes and truths in conventional textile production, but we need to find new ways to reduce the environmental impact. At the beginning of the project, we encountered many challenges, but along the way we have learned at least as many lessons about how the circular products of the future can be developed and produced, says Peter Frank, Product Manager at Segers.

Chef's coats and table napkins
In an initial pilot project, both chef's clothing and table napkins have been manufactured. Each new garment has been given a chip that collects important data about its use, which will then be evaluated in product development. The test pilot for the new-old garments is Paul Svensson - chef, restaurateur and cookbook author with a focus on sustainability.

- We have had time to work in the clothes for a while and they are super nice. The staff says that the clothes work great in service and that the napkins get extra attention from our guests, says Paul. For several years, Paul had been looking for a solution where existing materials could be used for the staff's work clothes, but the upcycled garments that were available in traditional clothing stores did not have the durability required in the restaurant industry. And the number of suppliers willing to go the extra mile to offer sustainable alternatives to the restaurant industry was few.

– The industry needs a combination of stylish, durable and recycling-savvy clothing. Apart from aprons made from upcycled material, we haven’t found a supplier that can offer anything similar in chef’s clothing – until now with Segers and Elis, says Paul.

Unique differences part of the charm
One of the challenges of production has been to create identical products from a textile raw material that is anything but uniform. Bleaching the clothes to an identical look is unthinkable because the method is environmentally damaging.

– If you put two chefs next to each other and are aware of what to look for, you can certainly detect minor nuance differences in these chef’s coats. But how often does the guest notice that? And is it really a problem? There is a good reason why the clothes are not identical. Nature is full of differences and if we can find carrots in different shades charming, we can probably learn to think the same about chef's coats or napkins. I don't see the problem, says Paul.

Sustainable clothing for more
For Segers, it's now about evaluating the project together with Paul and Elis. The hope is to be able to scale up and offer the new-old clothes to more people in the industry who want to become more sustainable.

- A project like this stirs the pot and requires new solutions in collaboration, logistics, product development and production. Change can be uncomfortable, but this project has only been fun. Ultimately, it's about being able to present products that we are proud of and that contribute to a more sustainable industry. We want everyone to have the chance to work in these clothes, says Peter Frank at Segers.