Rapanui Highlights Circular Fashion Alternative Amid Black Friday Waste Surge
As Black Friday and Cyber Monday evolve into a week-long global shopping frenzy, British circular clothing brand Rapanui is using the moment to spotlight a more sustainable path. With 80 percent of Black Friday purchases destined for the bin and BBC Earth reporting that three out of five T-shirts end up in landfills within a year, the brand is urging consumers to rethink consumption. Founded in 2009 by brothers Mart and Rob Drake-Knight on the Isle of Wight with just £200, Rapanui later evolved into Teemill in 2018, an open-source platform enabling thousands of brands to produce circular, waste-free apparel on demand.
This week, Rapanui is amplifying its message through Remill, an open take-back programme that accepts 100 percent cotton garments from any brand—excluding denim and underwear—to ensure materials are reused rather than discarded. Returned items are shredded and respun into new fabric composed of 50 percent recycled and 50 percent organic cotton. Rapanui’s latest collection features designs inspired by circular patterns in nature, symbolising the endless reuse of resources, and all garments include a QR code providing easy recycling instructions.
Since Remill’s launch, the initiative has recovered more than 102 tonnes of cotton, including 14 tonnes in 2025 alone, offering a tangible solution to fashion waste. Co-founder Mart Drake-Knight emphasised that Black Friday reflects a broken system built on disposability, adding that Teemill and Remill were created to challenge this waste-heavy model. By turning old garments into new ones, Rapanui demonstrates how circular fashion can help curb the growing mountain of textile waste.
Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright
