Friedrichshafen, Germany - Shoe soles made of old tyres, breathable jackets which used to be plastic bottles and T-shirts derived from old rags.

The world of outdoor and sporting fashion has discovered that recycled products are not only kinder to the planet - they sell well too.

The latest advertising blurbs from many outdoor wear companies

boast that products such as garments, shoes and accessories are made exclusively or partly from reusable materials. Recycling and sustainability were also among the key themes at a recent outdoor clothing trade show in the southern German town of Friedrichshafen.

"Nowadays there is hardly anything that hasn't been recycled," said Ralf-Stefan Beppler, a journalist who writes about outdoor equipment and is attuned to the latest trends.

The first tests with recycled fleece occurred in the 1990s, "but the material turned out to be too hard and customers didn't accept it. Things have got moving again because the technology is there and modern consumers are more aware of environmental issues."

It was about time that the producers of man-made fibres and their customers woke up to what is happening," said Kristin Grosse-Boelting who heads a research centre on garment technology and economics at the University of Muenster.

"This is taking the topic of sustainability a step further," said Jana Kern who works for the Frankfurt-based textiles journal Textilwirtschaft.

In the wake of fashion collections made from organically-grown cotton and efforts to promote clean and ethically-sound production methods, the next question was bound to crop up, namely: "What about man-made fibres".

Manufacturers are currently trying to find the answer and PET plastic bottles are state-of-the-art when it comes to providing the raw material for lean synthetic materials which can be woven into yarn and used to make clothes, said Kern. The recycled material ends up as fabric or as the membranes used in waterproof or breathable jackets.

According to Beppler, it is mainly the smaller firms who are taking the initiative and switching to recyclable products. Among those at the forefront is the Patagonia company in the United States.

"In their jackets they are using a recycled polyester membrane which can itself be recycled," said the expert. Other familiar names are keying into the trend as well. Shoe company Timberland has a product line with soles made partly from recycled rubber.

The uppers, cushions and soles of a new range of inline skates for 2009 from K2 are set to be made from fully-recyclable material and T- shirt-maker Anvil in the US has a model which utilises scrap materials.

Shoe firm Keen makes bags and rucksacks with inner linings made from recycled polyester using reinforcement material recovered from scrap shoe rubber. Membrane-Hersteller Sympatex meanwhile advertises its moisture-managing fabrics as being "100 per cent recyclable".

Beppler advises potential customers to look closely at the labels on these sustainable garments to see whether they are made or just recycled material or are capable of being further recycled themselves. "Is this just a fig-leaf or do they really mean it?," customers should ask.

"I can make a jacket using old PET bottles but can a new one be made out of it when it wears out?," asks Beppler. If not, the life cycle of such items remains finite and in many cases only certain components are recyclable. (dpa)