How do you recycle a bottle to become a Nattily gilet?

If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know Nattily Dressed has several aims at its heart. We want to create bright and beautiful clothing which brings the wearer joy every time they pull them on, and we want to make our business as sustainable as possible. You can read more in our December blog, if you’d like to know more about what it means to be a sustainable business.

Why we chose Polartec fleece

Right from the outset, It was vital to source top quality materials which would help preserve the world around us rather than have a negative impact on the planet. We decided on Polartec’s performance fleece, a very clever material which is warm, incredibly soft, washes well, dries quickly and has an amazing secret. It’s made from recycled plastic bottles! Recycled polyethylene terephthalate - or PET - to be specific. So how does a plastic bottle go from being thrown in a recycling bin to becoming a cosy new Nattily Dressed fleece gilet or quarter zip top?

From bottles to bales to pellets to fibres!

Well, it varies from place to place, but normally youth recycling is sorted with similar items and then compacted into bales. Those bales are sold to manufacturers who have facilities to process the materials into something which can be used again. For our fleece, the bales of PET are shredded up and processed into pellets. The pellets in turn are then heated up and undergo a process which ‘spins’ the material into tiny fibres. Those fibres are used to make the fleece which Polartec makes for us and we, in turn make into Nattily Dressed products.

Did you know, our YKK zips are also made from recycled products too and MacKenzie & George use the brightly colour trim off cuts to make our beautiful dog collars and leads (watch this space for more products coming soon!)

British designed and made

We’re so proud of the fact we not only design all our products in the UK, but in 2021 we moved all our clothing manufacturing here too. This means we get to lower our carbon footprint and support British manufacturing too. A double win for us! Our founder Natalie regularly visits our factory in Leicester to chat to the team who craft our products and see how we can keep making them even better! It’s great to have personal relationships with the team and saves on courier costs too!

Better still, our leather goods are all made down the road from Natalie on the Welsh / Shropshire border by neighbours MacKenzie & George – another fantastic small British business which works with local suppliers and shares the same values we do.

So, if you’re making an effort to make sure the clothing - and anything else you use - is kind to the environment, why not take a closer look? The Polartec performance fleece is perfect for wearing under coats for winter activities, and then is the ideal layering choice for those changeable spring days we know will be around the corner soon. Hands up who’s counting down the days until you can leave the house in a long-sleeved top and a gilet? We certainly are here at Nattily HQ!

We believe in the phrase, ‘Buy Once, Buy Well’ and our products are top quality and very much made to last – we have even repaired gilets for existing customers who’s pets have chewed the zips! We’re currently working on some new products to add to the range, so make sure you keep a close eye on our social media for more news, coming soon…