American Apparel is attracting attention (as usual) for selling its Bag-O-Scraps to consumers, but a new company called Looptworks is actually taking excess textile waste and turning it into limited edition clothing. In other words, the company is trying to make trash a coveted item.

According to Looptworks, Americans toss out over 11 million tons of textile waste each year, or about 10 pounds of waste per person. All that waste ends up in already-overstuffed landfills. So Looptworks is launching a collection of 20 jackets, hoodies, shirts and skirts this fall that are made completely out of excess material. Since limited amounts of material are available to make each item, the clothes are designated as numbered limited editions.

The founders of Looptworks aren't a bunch of clothing industry newbies, either. They have experience working for companies like Nike, Adidas, and Royal Robbins, which means the upcycled clothing might actually be attractive enough to wear.

Looptworks isn't the first company to manufacture upcycled goods--TerraCycle takes that honor--but it is the first clothing line to exclusively use textile waste that would otherwise end up in the garbage. Keep an eye on the Looptworks Web site in the coming weeks to find out what a t-shirt made of scraps from the factory floor looks like.

[Looptworks]