Dewsbury man breathes new life into Yorkshire textile industry

John Parkinson’s new venture, named ‘iinouiio’ arrives 200 years after enterprising mill owner Benjamin Law transformed discarded rags into new cloth and initiated textile’s first ‘circular economy’.

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

Twenty five years on, after owning his own recycling business and retraining as a teacher, Mr Parkinson has carved out a new production route and formed iinouiio, itself a recycled business and the only one of its kind in the world.

To get started, he sorted 1.5 tons of rags by hand, removing buttons, zips and fasteners (to be re-used in other ways).

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.

Mr Parkinson said: “It’s an amazing process and doing this work 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 for another life.”

Supported by Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, iinouiio’s website offers yarns made from 80 per cent post-consumer recycled wool.

Mr Parkinson added: ‘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.”