Stimulating Textile To Textile Recycling

Extending the active lifetimes of textile products should be prioritised in efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of textile production. However, once textiles are worn out, recycling them back into new textile products is environmentally advantageous compared to incineration or landfill. A number of Nordic brands have been venturing out on pathways towards textile-to-textile recycling both through designing for ease of recycling and thus increase potential supply, and through using recycled materials in new products. This report compares the experiences of eleven of these and documents their motivation, challenges they’ve experienced and the strategies they’ve used to overcome these. The report is published in parallel with a case wallet and aims to inspire other brands to engage in closed loop thinking.

An increasing amount of waste is generated each year from textiles and their production. For economic and environmental reasons it is necessary that as much of this waste as possible is recycled instead of being disposed of in landfill sites. In reality the rate of textile recycling is still relatively low. On average, approximately ten million tonnes of textile waste is currently dumped in Europe and America each year. Considering the diversity of fibrous waste and structures, many technologies must work in concert in an integrated industry in order to increase the rate of recycling. Recycling in textiles shows how this can be achieved. The first part of the book introduces the subject by looking at the general issues involved and the technologies concerned. Part Two explores the chemical aspects of textile recycling. Part Three focuses on recycled textile products, including nonwovens and alternative fibres. Finally, the last part of the book discusses possible applications of recycled textiles, including using recycled products in the operating theatre, for soil stabilisation and in concrete reinforcement. Recycling in textiles presents several promising technologies and ideas for recycling systems. This is the first book of its kind to bring together textile recycling issues, technology, products, processes and applications. It will prove an invaluable guide to all those in the industry who are now looking for ways to recycle their textile waste. Provides extensive coverage of this hot topic An invaluable guide for all in the textile industry Learn how to increase the rate of recycling

Recycling is a process of collection and segregation, processing and remanufacturing, purchase and use. Textile recycling is the process by which old clothing and other textiles are recovered for reuse or material recovery. It is the basis for the textile recycling industry. The necessary steps in the textile recycling process involve the donation, collection, sorting and processing of textiles, and then subsequent transportation to end users of used garments, rags or other recovered materials. Textile industry is accused of being one of the most polluting industries. Not only production but consumption of textiles also produces waste. Textile recycling is the reuse as well as reproduction of fibres from textile waste. Textile recycling is one of the oldest and most established recycling industries in the world, yet, few people understand the recycling industry. Textiles have been recycled since the eighteenth century when the Napoleanic war caused virgin wool shortages and required that wool fibres be garneted into new yarns. Even though the textile industry has been utilizing used fibres for at least 150 years, the markets for recycled textile fibres continue to evolve. Traditional sources of textile waste come from three different sources - fibre, yarn and fabric processing, Sewn products manufacture, disc textile at cutting waste at all the manufacturing level are considered pre-consumer waste and are easier to recycle because the fibres, dyes and finishes are known and in like-new condition. The financial benefits are making money selling recyclables and community financial benefits. Recycling builds community since people work together, communicate, share ideas and support each other. Recycling creates jobs. For example, 10,000 tons of waste incinerated, creates 1 job, landfilled creates 6 jobs and recycled creates 36 jobs. Recycling helps build a strong economy, lower waste management costs, cheaper production materials, energy savings, and job creation. Recycling helps protect environment due to reduced contamination risk from landfills, reduced pollution, reduced environmental impact from mining or extracting fresh raw materials. Recycling is a way of life as once we make the choice to recycle and stick to that choice every day, it becomes second nature and a way of life.

This book highlights the environmental and economic benefits of recycling in textiles and fashion; vis-a-vis virgin textiles. Recycling plays an inevitable part when it comes to sustainable innovations in textiles and fashion sector. As basic information pertaining to the benefits, challenges of recycling in textiles are discussed to the sufficient extent in the literature, this book deals with the innovative at the same time, sustainable products made from the recycled textiles.

Nordic consumers purchase 365 000 tonnes of new clothing and home textiles each year. After food, housing and mobility, textiles is our consumption area that causes most environmental impacts. Reusing and recycling used textiles can offset some of these impacts but with an increasing number of options available, government and business need more information to make decisions on which pathways to choose. The Nordic Council of Ministers commissioned a consortium to carry out an LCA study to compare the environmental benefits of treatment options. Reuse was found to give by far the greatest benefits, regardless of whether the textiles are reused in the Nordic region or exported for reuse elsewhere. Further down the waste hierarchy, recycling is a better environmental option than incineration, although the benefits are moderate compared to the benefits of reuse. The primary aim of the project was to provide a database that can assist policymakers and businesses to estimate the environmental benefits of strategies for gathering and treating discarded textiles. As such this report presents only a fraction of the results of the LCA modelling. Hundreds of additional results can be found in a number of spreadsheets that can also be downloaded here.

This report is the primary outcome from Part I of the project “Towards a Nordic textile strategy - Collection, sorting, reuse and recycling of textiles” initiated by the Nordic Waste Group (NAG). The report for Part 2 will be published in December 2014. This report summarizes the work carried out in 2013. The three subreports will be the basis for the work to be performed in 2014. The reports for 2013 are: • International market survey of textile flows in the Nordic region and the market for collection, sorting, preparing for reuse, reselling and waste management of textiles. • Collection and sorting systems A total of 19 collection systems are compared for collection flows, contamination levels, cost, suitability of collected textile and availability for the consumer. Four sorting systems are described. • Technology review of sorting and recycling of textiles that describes available and future technology. The report is part of the Nordic Prime Ministers’ overall green growth initiative: “The Nordic Region – leading in green growth.” Read more in the web magazine “Green Growth the Nordic Way” at www.norden.org/greengrowth.

The alarming level of greenhouse gases in the environment, fast depleting natural resources and the increasing level of industrial effluents, have made every single manufacturing activity come under the scrutiny of sustainability. When all kinds of waste such as clothes, furniture, carpets, televisions, shoes, paper, food wastes etc. end up in the landfill, only a few of them are naturally decomposed and thus a large majority remains as non-biodegradable. It is for this reason, efforts are concentrated to reduce the burden on earth by this waste, and as far as used textile products are concerned, there are now attempts to recycle or up-cycle. This book addresses the role of sustainability by using textile waste in fashion and textiles with respect to manufacturing, materials, as well as the economic and business challenges and opportunities it poses. This wide-ranging book comprises 19 chapters on the various topics including: · Solutions for sustainable fashion and textile industry · Agro and bio waste in the fashion industry · Innovating fashion brands by using textile waste · Waste in handloom textiles · Business paradigm shifting: 21st century fashion from recycling and upcycling · Utilization of natural waste for sustainable textile coloration · Circular economy in fashion and textile from waste · Future pathways of waste utilization for fashion · Sustainable encapsulation of natural dyes from Plant waste for textiles · Agro-waste applications for bio-remediation of textile effluent