KFC Australia Gives New Meaning to 'Fashion Forward'

As KFC Australia uniforms get a new look in the coming months, the ones they're replacing will be getting a new purpose.

Approximately 60,000 old uniforms will be transformed into 25,000 sq. meters (269,000 sq. feet) of commercial grade carpet underlay. The brand announced the plan to divert the uniforms from landfill earlier this year on World Environment Day.

"It's incredibly important that we look for ways to repurpose unneeded products from our stores and reduce waste and energy consumption across our entire restaurant network," said KFC Australia Chief Supply Chain Officer Michael Clark, noting the project presented significant operational and logistical challenges that "forced KFC to really think outside the box."

To collect uniforms from more than 600 stores across the country, KFC will partner with its existing food delivery suppliers Cutfresh and Unifresh. The suppliers will pick up the uniforms during routine deliveries, then send the 7,000 kilograms (15,000 pounds) of materials from their distribution centers to Pacific NonWovens, a fiber technology company that will handle the repurposing.

To collect uniforms from more than 600 stores across the country, KFC will partner with its existing food delivery suppliers Cutfresh and Unifresh. The suppliers will pick up the uniforms during routine deliveries, then send the 7,000 kilograms (15,000 pounds) of materials from their distribution centers to Pacific NonWovens, a fiber technology company that will handle the repurposing.