Environmental concerns are at an all-time high among UK businesses and the concept of re-use is beginning to permeate all operations.

While commodities such as textiles can be sold to recyclers for a modest fee, keeping them for longer – and getting the best possible use out of them before replacement – makes increasing sense.

After not using the earth’s resources to manufacture something at all, re-using that item is the second best option for what to do with it, according to the well-established and respected Hierarchy of Waste.

This ranking of waste management options, by what is best for the environment, is endorsed by the UK Government and others, and recognised as guidance for best practice.

Recycling is only the third best process on the list of five, followed by other forms of recovery and disposal to landfill or incineration. This is because recycling requires another process that is likely to involve the need for more carbon and water.

Re-use needs no such intervention and savvy business owners are now thinking hard about what they can keep and use for longer. The benefit to the environment is clear, and of course firms with robust sustainability policies are the ones who will thrive and prosper in the years ahead.

Banks, other lenders and investors, as well as potential commercial partners awarding contracts, are already favouring companies with a genuine desire to do the right thing by the planet and an action plan to prove it.

There is also the money-saving aspect of re-use to consider. Taking hospitality or healthcare linen as our example, getting more wears and washes out of workwear, bedding, towels and tableware means that less top-up stock must be ordered.

This is a particularly attractive prospect when the rising cost of cottons and polycottons is taken into account, as well as the current and ongoing disruptions to supply chains – meaning that availability of the right replacement linen, even at an inflated price, cannot be guaranteed.

So, will 2022 be the year that the simple re-use of commodities gets the recognition it deserves? We think so. Get in touch to see how we can help you love your linen for longer.

Email paulhamilton@bulmerandlumb.com to find out more.