London: Unsold concert merchandise is getting a second life as the music industry explores more sustainable ways to reduce waste generated by global tours.
Universal Music Group's merchandising division, Bravado, has launched an initiative to recycle old tour T-shirts and hoodies into fresh merchandise for artists. The project begins with U.S. punk rock band Social Distortion, which is currently selling apparel made from recycled garments during its European tour.
The programme repurposes more than 400,000 unsold T-shirts that had been stored in a warehouse in Nashville. The garments were shipped to Morocco, where textile manufacturer Hallotex processed the old fabric, turning it into new yarn for the production of recycled cotton T-shirts and hoodies.
Bravado expects the initiative to produce around 280,000 new blank garments for use by artists touring across Europe.
According to Bravado chief executive Matt Young, the company wants to offer artists environmentally conscious merchandise options while encouraging wider adoption of sustainable practices across the music industry.
Although producing the recycled garments currently costs between 10 and 20 per cent more than manufacturing new apparel, Young said costs are expected to fall as production scales up.
The idea for the initiative was inspired by environmental advocacy from singer Billie Eilish and her mother Maggie Baird, both of whom have frequently campaigned for greater sustainability within the entertainment industry.
Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness described the decision to use recycled merchandise as an easy one, saying artists need to move beyond discussing environmental problems and start taking practical action.
