New venture brings ‘shoddy’ production back to Yorkshire

A textile industry veteran has started his own venture offering recycled woollen yarns and fabrics, the first product range of its kind to be made in the UK for more than 20 years.

Launched by John Parkinson, the company – iinouiio – arrives 200 years after mill owner Benjamin Law transformed discarded rags into new cloth and initiated textile’s first “circular economy”.

Though Law veiled his methods of shredding old clothes into new fibres – later dubbed “shoddy” – in secrecy, the results saw the village of Batley transformed into a thriving industrial textile hub.

Parkinson, of Darfield in South Yorkshire, said: “My life has been consumed by recycling textiles and we are determined to preserve and improve upon this craft’s impressive heritage and the legacy of my own family’s ‘shoddy’ business.”

Parkinson spent much of his career in the textile industry, initially as a rag grinding machine operator before graduating to mill foreman in his father’s business.

In 1990, he started Evergreen, a pioneering concern exploring new recycling possibilities such as polyester fibres made from plastic bottles and denim.

Based in Batley Carr, he sold to Tesco, Debenhams, Esprit, Mitsubishi, WWF, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, as well as many small-scale designers and artisans.

However, a massive fire destroyed everything in 1995 and forced him to retrain as a teacher.

25 years on, Parkinson has carved out a new production route and formed iinouiio, itself a recycled business.

He explained: “It was like an itch that wouldn’t go away so I’m returning to my greatest passion.

“Experts warned me that, as the local manufacturing infrastructure was so depleted, it wouldn’t be possible to make textiles from recycled wool the way I did in the ’90s. They were very nearly right because it hasn’t been easy.”

To get started, he sorted 1.5 tons of rags by hand, removing buttons, zips and fasteners. He arranged what remained into eight shades to form a new range of recycled wool craft materials for knitting, crochet, embroidery, weaving, felting, cloth and home furnishings and craft kits.

He said: “It’s an amazing process and doing this work still feels like being part of a magic show surrounded by all these other textile wizards.

“It’s spell-binding to see throwaway knitwear changed into yarn and made ready to start another life.

“We’re looking forward to manufacturing bespoke products for designers and artisans at specialist wholesale price points.

“When it’s possible, we’ll be attending exhibitions and craft workshops to share the environmental benefits of our products. We support the re-use of items, a slowing of consumerism and more responsible methods and materials.”

Parkinson suggests recycled fibre production could contribute to a move away from the fast fashion throwaway culture.

He added: “Whilst dedicated to traditional techniques, I mean to explore every possibility of enhancing these with new technologies.

“The iinouiio philosophy is grounded in discovery and a desire to ‘do things better’”.