Every month, The Groundbreakers puts an inspiring initiative, product or company in the spotlight. By sharing knowledge and inspiration, we want to stimulate sustainable developments and hope to contribute to the greening of business. This time we would like to highlight i-did. An impactful company that is committed to tackling both the textile mountain and unemployment. You can read exactly how they do this below.

Social work place

i-did believes in second chances, for both people and products. People who, for whatever reason, have never worked or have not worked for a long time, are intensively guided and coached at i-did to make beautiful recycled products. These are people who want to, but need a little push. i-did offers them a workplace where they grow, learn and ultimately move on to a regular job.

producten van gerecycled vilt
i-did Factory

Circular textile chain

At the same time, the textile mountain - around 330 million kg of old textiles in the Netherlands per year - is being cleared away. They do this by making recycled felt from old textiles, such as corporate clothing or consumer clothing. In their workshops, participants work independently to produce beautiful bags, interior parts and accessories from this recycled felt. The i-did Factory offers a completely circular textile chain. They even process small quantities of old textiles into felt here. This forms the basis for social action: helping vulnerable people find impactful work. The goal is to use this model worldwide in the future to make an even greater impact.

Recycled felt

i-did's recycled felt, called i-felt, is made from textile surpluses that would otherwise be burned or end up in a waste dump. In the felt you can recognize the written-off uniforms from Defense, IKEA, Efteling and KLM, among others. Because i-felt is made from recycled clothing, it is soft, cuddly and a real eye-catcher. In addition, i-felt has an acoustic and extremely strong effect. Ideal for catering and industrial buildings, for example, or simply as a bag to transport your daily groceries. At The Groundbreakers we use laptop covers from i-did to keep our laptops safe and stylish, and we are very happy with this!

Want to know more about i-did? Then go to the website or watch the video below.