Recycled fibers were under 8% of global production in '23 and recycled cotton was only 1% of all cotton produced, so this garment is pretty special. Using recycled materials means new "virgin" materials aren't being used, and we think that's awesome since fiber production has more than doubled from 2000 to 2023. But recycling can be resource-intensive to process things back down into their raw materials, so there is still debate if using recycled materials is better than growing new plant fibers "the right way." We like recycled fibers, particularly for synthetics since virgin polyester, nylon, and elastane which need more petroleum.