Metal Anarchy

Social Distortion are selling 100% upcycled merch on their current European tour. Shirts and hoodies were printed on blanks Universal Music Group’s merchandising division, Bravado put together from unsold merch in their Nashville warehouse.

The unused items were sent to Tangier in Morocco. Hallotex then broke them down ​and spun them into new yarn. The initiative, which was proposed by Billie Eilish’s mother Maggie Baird, was launched to create ⁠280,000 recycled cotton merch items for musicians to sell on their European tours.

Social Distortion’s Mike Ness commented:

“It’s important to everyone in the band that we always do what we can to reduce our footprint on the environment, and using these 100% recycled blanks for t-shirts on our tour is an easy way to do just that. We hope that our fans will love them.”

Matt Young, CEO of Bravado, continued:

“There are a huge number of artists that have been waiting for this kind of sustainable option for merch on their tours. We’re thrilled that Social D will be among the first bands to take these new t-shirts and hoodies out on the road with them. This is an important innovation as we continue to decrease the impact made by touring and merch.”

Dylan Siegler, head of sustainability for Universal Music Group, added:

“Merch gives fans a tangible way to connect with artists, and this project gives them a way to connect with sustainability at the same time. These are pieces fans will feel good about purchasing.”