#Recycling / Circular Economy

2023-02-01

Fashion for Good sorting for circularity advances into the US market

Fashion for Good launches the Sorting for Circularity USA Project, a new initiative focused on the North-American textile-to-textile recycling market that will provide the most representative snapshot of textile waste composition generated in the United States. This effort is crucial to understanding and evaluating the business case for textile-to-textile recycling, ensuring that used textiles move to their best and highest end use. The results of this 18-month project will inform decisions to unlock necessary investments and actions to scale collection, sorting and recycling innovations.

PROJECT EXPANDS TO NORTH AMERICA TO DRIVE FIBRE-TO-FIBRE RECYCLING

Driven by Fashion for Good, the Sorting for Circularity USA Project is facilitated by brand partners, adidas, Inditex, Levi Strauss & Co., and Target, as well as Eastman, H&M and Nordstrom, as external partners.

“We are excited to be taking the Sorting for Circularity Project into new territory and entering the North-American market. After successful initiatives across such large regions as Europe and India, the US presents a great opportunity with the potential for incredible positive impacts considering the volume of the consumer market and post-consumer textiles landscape. This project will lay the foundation to make informed investment and infrastructure decisions, and a compelling business case for monetisation through recycling.” - Katrin Ley, Managing Director at Fashion for Good

A GROWING, UNTAPPED RESOURCE

Textile waste is now the fastest growing segment of the USA’s waste stream, with the amount of discarded textiles increasing annually. Although some of this waste is reused, 85% of the textile waste ends up in landfills. Currently the demand for recycled fibres is growing, but access to the waste supply is limited. Key elements to supporting the growth of textile-to-textile recycling include understanding material composition, volume and location of used textiles, as well as expanding access to textile recycling. With a scaled textile collection and sorting infrastructure, the industry could capture used textiles, sort them for the best and highest quality end use, and fulfil the increasing demand for both secondhand and recycled commodity feedstock. Fashion for Good launches the Sorting for Circularity USA project to address this challenge and uncover feedstock availability for textile-to-textile recycling.

A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR A NEW TERRITORY

Building on the learnings from Sorting for Circularity Europe and India, the Sorting for Circularity USA Project aims to highlight the opportunity to accelerate textile recycling with the most representative snapshot of textile waste composition generated in the United States. The project aims to achieve this through two objectives; conducting an extensive consumer survey to map the journey a garment takes from closet to end of use, and conducting a comprehensive analysis of post-consumer textiles using innovative, Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) technology, provided by Matoha, to understand their composition.

Project co-lead, Resource Recycling Systems, will drive the dissemination and analysis of the consumer survey together with NYS Center for Sustainable Materials Management, and execute the textile composition analysis across the USA with support from advisory organisations Circle Economy and SMART. SMART, one of the largest used fibre trade associations, will liaise with its used clothing and fibre industry members to participate in the project. Circle Economy, having co-led the European project, will serve to guide implementation of the waste analysis methodology.

THE SORTING FOR CIRCULARITY PROJECT FRAMEWORK

Sorting for Circularity, a framework created by Fashion for Good and Circle Economy, aims to (re)capture textile waste, expedite the implementation of game changing technologies and drive circularity within the fashion value chain. The framework is based on insights from the Fashion for Good and Apparel Impact Institute’s collaborative report “Unlocking the Trillion Dollar Fashion Decarbonisation Opportunity”, which charts a trajectory for the industry to meet its net-zero ambition by 2050, highlighting the potential and significant impact on carbon emissions in the industry through material efficiency, extended and re- use of waste. Created with scalability in mind, the Project was first initiated in Europe, and has now expanded to include Sorting for Circularity India and the USA.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Novel flame-retardant and recyclable fiber-reinforced composite

Airplanes and passenger trains must meet strict safety requirements, including fire safety standards. This calls for materials that are flame-retardant, lightweight, robust, and scalable. Empa researchers, in collaboration with their industry partner Elantas, have now succeeded for the first time in making such a material – a composite – fully recyclable.

Indorama Ventures advances circular fashion through RECO Collective 2026

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global sustainable chemical company, is taking RECO Collective into its 12th year under the theme “The Next Original,” reinforcing its mission to promote recycling and upcycling knowledge while encouraging SMEs in the fashion industry to embrace recycled materials. The program focuses particularly on recycled polyester (rPET) yarns and fabrics made from post-consumer PET bottles, using these materials to create value-added products that combine distinctive design with consumer needs and market opportunities.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues 2026 concludes with 50 international participants immersed in Brazilian cotton production

The Cotton Brazil Dialogues concludes its 2026 edition after a series of technical visits to farms, cotton gins and reference centers, as well as workshops focused on Brazilian cotton production. A total of 50 participants from 14 countries took part in the field trips. The initiative is led by the Brazilian Association of Cotton Growers (Abrapa) and the National Association of Cotton Exporters (Anea), with support from the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil).

WHILL selects Teijin’s tough, lightweight Carbon Fiber Composite for new last-mile mobility

Teijin Limited announced today that WHILL Inc., a global leader in inclusive mobility technology, has selected Sereebo® P CFP series, a carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) material, for key structural components of the upcoming WHILL Model C Lite. Sereebo® P CFP series provides high strength, light weight, design flexibility and system cost advantages to the Model C Lite, which is a battery powered, single-seat, last-mile device. This new model combines maneuverability with light weight and one-handed folding to ensure ease of handling and operation.

ZymoChem secures $4 million in renewed federal funding to advance U.S. biomanufacturing of critical materials and their supply chains

ZymoChem, the specialty chemicals company dedicated to bringing decarbonization, sustainability, and supply chain resiliency to the chemical industry through innovative biological manufacturing, today announced the resumption and expansion of its federal research portfolio. The company has been notified that previously paused work under a $5 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program is officially back on, to be joined by continuing collaborations with three of the nation's premier national laboratories.