RE/THREAD brings an awareness to the un-sustainability of producing new clothes in today’s culture. With water resources depleting and millions of tons of waste sent off to landfills, a new way to develop fabric needs to be implemented. Researchers are already trying to develop new ways to reuse fibers from clothes, RE/THREAD gives them a place to share it. By using the resources and materials that are already available, the program strives to make it accepted in everyday practice. By combining all the manufacturing steps into one space, it allows the knowledge and creativity that resides in the workers to be shared with the community.
 

Taking old clothing and turn it into fiber to be used in the making of new textiles. This uses 98% less water in the production of cotton. It gives post-consumer and post-industrial waste a second use without adding additional waste. By relying on goods that already exist, it reduces the pressure on virgin resources. With recycling, there are 80% less greenhouse gas emissions from the machinery used to harvest the raw materials. Plastic from polyurethane does not make its way to the oceans. Because the fibers are engineered they can be customized to achieve specific performance capabilities. This means stronger materials that last longer.