Moving from a take-make-dispose system to one based on reuse, recycling and minimising waste
A company that makes workwear from waste polyester has been acquired by global PPE firm Beeswift Ltd.
Through its ‘Project Reclaim’ initiative, Birmingham-based Plan B International Ltd partners with the Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL) to turn throw-away polyester fabric into pellets at a recycling plant in Kettering, Northants.
These pellets are then transformed into yarn to make high-quality workwear in a process that is already saving thousands of tonnes of polyester a year from going to landfill.
Britain produces more than 300,000 tonnes of polyester textile waste annually.
Right now Project Reclaim is putting 2,500 tonnes of that to good use – a number that promises to rise after Plan B’s buy-out by Beeswift, the £60m-turnover manufacturer and supplier of workwear and PPE, which operates from locations in Birmingham, UK, and in the Netherlands.
Beeswift made the acquisition after recently winning awards for its ENVIROWEAR® range.
“Beeswift and Plan B share a mutual vision for the future of workwear, one where sustainability, circularity and innovation are the norm, not the exception,” said Darren Washbourne, CEO of Beeswift.
“This acquisition allows us to integrate Plan B’s cutting-edge circular design principles into our broader offering, accelerating our journey toward a more sustainable future.”
Beeswift’s newly created division – Beeswift Circular Solutions (BCS)
Tim Cross, former CEO of Plan B International, said: “This is an exciting next chapter for Plan B. By joining forces with Beeswift, we can scale our mission and bring circular workwear to even more organisations across the UK and beyond. It’s a partnership built on shared values and a joint ambition to drive real change.”
With increasing legislative and commercial pressure to reduce environmental impact, Plan B International will sit within Beeswift’s newly created division, Beeswift Circular Solutions (BCS).
BCS, led by Andy Moulding, will lead the group’s long-term strategy on to further develop a production model that replaces the traditional ‘take-make-dispose’ system with one based on reuse and recycling to minimise waste, pollution and resource depletion.
This is the second new division launched by Beeswift in 2025, following the introduction of Beeswift Vending Solutions (BVS) earlier in the year
