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Rapha has released the “not-so new Excess Collection”, a range of products made from discarded material.
The collection is entirely constructed from leftover fabric and available in very limited numbers. Rapha estimates the capsule has saved approximately 2303m of excess fabric and 24 kg of yarn in total.
Excess zips, elastics and size labels were also used where possible.
Alongside the Excess collection, Rapha has created a switch-out kit with a difference for team EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-TIBCO-SVB for the first men’s Grand Tour of the season – the Giro d’Italia, as well as the Giro Donne.
The team issue consists of 72% majority excess material, owing to UCI rules around team kit consistency and garment requirements.
Utilising Pro Team technology with the new Excess programme, Rapha has created its most consciously constructed team issue for one of the biggest races in the season.
A spokesperson for the brand said: “As a clothing brand, it’s apparent that our business will never be a totally sustainable one. But that’s never stopped us from recognising the importance of being responsible, and questioning what we can do to ensure our impact is as small as it can be.
“From our product repair kits to incorporating recycled materials, we’ve always led from the front in terms of sustainability within cycling.
“In a world where greenwashing is all too common, we’re wearing our waste problem on our sleeve with a new kind of collection that turns excess fabric into world-class apparel.”
Rapha is one of many brands leading the way in trying to reduce its impact on the environment with reduced waste.
The brand accepts that, to some extent, the production of surplus fabric as a clothing business is unavoidable. And whilst it is working to minimise it, it isn’t able to eliminate it completely.
This is largely due to three reasons that are implicit within the process; product amendments, cancellations and minimum order quantities (MOQ) that are set higher than the required amount.
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The brand added: “But, that doesn’t mean we’ve given up reducing our impact in other areas and we’ve recently implemented some vital shifts in our processes.
“Product engineers and designers check in on MOQ issues in order to catch potential offenders early, enabling us to remove specific problem materials from our range, such as a binding previously used on our Cargo Bibs.
“Now, we examine the range months before purchase and tailor our choices and quantities accordingly.”
From this practice, Rapha has managed to save 7000m of excess in one season alone.
The Excess Collection is available now in limited quantities and includes men’s and women’s pro team aero jerseys, training jerseys, bib shorts, socks and a musette.
For more information visit: www.rapha.cc
