From the Sector

Fashion for Good launches the Sorting for Circularity USA report unveiling significant findings from the project. A first of its kind in the US, the report delves into consumer disposal behaviour, textile waste composition, and the potential for fibre-to-fibre recycling within the country. It provides insights for making informed decisions for further investments, infrastructure development and the next steps towards circularity.

The U.S. Textile Waste Landscape
The United States is a global leader in textile consumption and waste generation, positioning itself as one of the largest sources of secondary raw materials for post-consumer textile feedstock. Despite this, only 15% of the textile waste generated in the US is currently recovered, with 85% ending up in landfills or incinerators.

With the impending policies in the European Union and certain American states, alongside commitments from both public and private sectors to promote fibre-to-fibre recycling, there is a growing demand for infrastructure related to post-consumer textile collection, sorting, and recycling.

Addressing Data GPS
In the pursuit of establishing a functional reverse supply chain and the necessary infrastructure, two critical areas lack data  – consumer disposal behaviour, and material characteristics of post-consumer textiles. The Sorting for Circularity USA project addressed these gaps through a comprehensive national consumer survey and waste composition analysis.

The survey revealed that 60% of respondents divert textiles, while 4% discard them, driven primarily by factors such as condition and fit. On the other hand, the waste composition analysis unveiled that over 56% of post-consumer textiles are suitable for fibre-to-fibre recycling, with cotton and polyester being the most prevalent fibre types, indicating a substantial potential for these textiles to be used as feedstock for mechanical and chemical recycling processes.

The project revealed a $1.5 billion opportunity for fibre-to-fibre recycling by redirecting non-rewearable textiles from landfills and incinerators to recycling streams. The report outlines growth strategies for the US textile recycling industry, emphasising enhanced financial value through efficiency improvements, increased commodity valuation, and policy mechanisms like extended producer responsibility schemes. Collaboration among stakeholders is crucial, including brands, government, retailers, consumers, collectors, sorters, recyclers, and financial institutions, to promote circularity, invest in research and development, and advocate for supportive policies and incentives to drive technological innovation. This redirection of textiles towards recycling underscores the substantial economic potential of embracing circularity in the textile industry.
 
There is an opportunity to build on these insights and assess the feasibility of different sorting business models and (semi) automated sorting technologies to create a demo facility suitable for closed-loop textile recycling. Ultimately, evaluating the commercial and technical feasibility of a semi-automated sorting process and identifying investment opportunities to scale solutions nationwide.

Vision and technology are the key ingredients of a ground-breaking school blazer that is showing how businesses can move to a circular textiles economy.  
 
While many brands are grappling with the complexities of inevitable legislation and engrained business models, leading school uniform producer, David Luke, has launched a fully recyclable ‘circular’ school blazer that is designed to be recycled through Project Re:claim, the world’s first commercial-scale polyester recycling plant.
 
Project Re:claim is a joint venture between the UK’s largest charity textile collector, The Salvation Army, and leading circularity specialists Project Plan B. The plant opened in the UK in January 2024, and presents huge opportunities for brands to transition to textile-to-textile manufacturing models.
 
David Luke’s circular blazer has been introduced to the brand’s successful Eco-uniform range which has sold over 1.7 million Eco-blazers in the last decade. Up until 2023, David Luke’s Eco-blazer, like many recycled garments, has been made from recycled plastic bottles. But the company has been working with Tim Cross, CEO of Project Plan B and the Circular Textiles Foundation, to bring the 100% recyclable blazer to market.
 
Tim Cross said: “David Luke has grasped the opportunity to embed 100% recyclable and 100% recycled garments into their range, starting with the school blazer. We now have the technology to enable their blazers to be recycled without any separation of the garment, making it an efficient recycling process. The team at David Luke has worked tirelessly with their manufacturers to create a blazer that does not compromise on design or quality, and yet is much kinder to the environment.”
 
Every detail from the lining, buttons and zips to the inter-linings and adhesives, has been re-thought and re-designed to meet the demands of an everyday school blazer and to recycle the garment once it reaches its end-of-life. Up until now, when the blazers have eventually been handed down to siblings, or given to the local charity shop, there had been no end-of-life solution for polyester garments apart from incineration. Now, Project Re:claim can recycle the blazer to produce polyester pellets, which are then spun into yarn to be used for future David Luke circular blazers.
 
Cross continues: “David Luke has the vision to create a fully circular range, and we have the potential to supply recycled content. The possibilities are infinite in terms of the future of garment design and manufacturing.”
 
Kathryn Shuttleworth, Chief Executive of David Luke, said: “It is a natural next step for us to transition to a textile-to-textile model. We have been producing garments using recycled plastic bottles for 15 years, but we have always had an eye on developments in textile recycling and solutions for end-of-life garments.”
 
In 2020, David Luke was awarded the Queen’s award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development and in January 2023 the David Luke circular blazer achieved Circular Foundation Textile certification.
 
Shuttleworth added: “Our focus will always be on those essential ingredients for parents and children - style, durability and affordability. But we have a responsibility to change our business model to better protect children’s future and the environment. It has become our obsession to make uniforms that meet our customers’ demands. We are really excited about the future as we continue to develop our range.”
 
Majonne Frost, Head of Environment and Sustainability for Salvation Army Trading Company, said: “Our vision is to enable companies to produce uniforms, corporate wear, fashion garments and textile ranges using recycled polyester.  We have the infrastructure to collect donations at scale and we now need companies to step up. This is an opportunity for companies to make a commitment to significantly reduce their environmental impact, and David Luke are showing us how that is possible.”

At a kick off meeting hosted by Mango, EURATEX and 20 incoming members presented ReHubs Europe, a new international non-profit organisation poised to give a boost to the textile recycling. The launch follows three years of intense preparation, and the publication of a Techno-Economic Study, which analysed the business case, cost and environmental benefits for upscaling textile waste recycling in Europe.

ReHubs Europe will gather key players from the textile value chain - textile manufacturers, fashion brands, collectors and recyclers, chemical industry, technology providers - who welcome the ReHubs joint ambition to recycle 2.5 million tons of textile waste by 2030. This requires up to 250 industrial projects across Europe, covering different types of fibre-to-fibre recycling.

ReHubs Europe is the industry’s response to the upcoming EU legislation, which sets compulsory collection and sorting of textile waste, by 2025. To manage this, an upscale of recycling capacity is needed as well as a collaboration of different players from the value chain.

Chris Deloof will lead ReHubs Europe as Executive Director. Chris has a long-standing experience in the textile sector and is a passionate advocate for cross-industry collaboration. Moreover, Chris is deeply committed to driving the transition towards a circular economy, which aligns seamlessly with ReHubs Europe's mission.

ReHubs Europe will operate from Brussels, in close partnership with EURATEX. Membership is open to any companies who wish to invest in textile waste recycling in Europe.

Three strong women, each different from the other, but who have managed to leave their mark on the history and evolution of the female role, and despite living in different eras, have left an indelible mark on society: Madame De Pompadour, nicknamed Reinette, the favourite of King Louis XV, Luisa Amman, called Corè by the great poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, and the iconic Vivienne Westwood, Miss Viv.
The three women are the FOREVER ICONS chosen and celebrated Iluna, where each woman becomes the protagonist of a “traveling exhibition” that will accompany Iluna between events and fairs.

Reinette
The nickname "Reinette" belonged to Madame De Pompadour, the favourite of King Louis XV. She had a significant influence in politics, arts, and fashion, shaping the style of the first half of the 18th century. Beauty and grace are represented in a floral theme, featuring small romantic details that become opulent with the use of lurex and golden cords. The color palette is soft, muted, and powderyry.

Corè
Luisa Amman, born in the late 19th century into a wealthy bourgeois family, married at a young age and became Marchesa Casati. "Corè" is the endearing nickname given to her by her lover Gabriele D'Annunzio, inspired by Kore, the Queen of the Underworld. She was a patron of the arts, an eccentric and transgressive collector. This theme celebrates opulence, from peacock feathers to Liberty-style designs in deep colours and warm metallic glimmers. An innovative proposal for the theme is the pleating technique, achieved directly in the weaving process of the Ultralight jacquardtronic laces.

Miss Viv
Vivienne Westwood, an extraordinary protagonist with an intense and irreverent life. Her insights have forever marked fashion and transformed the general standards of dressing. Rock and rebellious, she drew inspiration from street trends, anticipating avant-garde movements. In the 1990s, she brought back Tartan, mixing it with sensual roses in a maximalism that went against the prevailing trends, featuring vibrant colours. At the beginning of the third millennium, she grasped the importance of preserving the planet and left us with a motto that is more urgent and relevant than ever: "Buy Less, Choose Well, Make it Last." Within this theme, there is a new GRS-certified print that saves water, applied to ultra-fine Lurex nets, which are also certified.

The international fashion sourcing platform Source Fashion, taking place from 12th – 14th February at Olympia London, has announced a compelling line-up of country pavilions and over 150 audited, quality manufacturers from around the world including Peru, India, China, Pakistan, Italy, Spain, Greece, North Macedonia,  the UAE, Madagascar, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, the UK and many more who will join the inaugural show, which runs parallel to Pure London.

Bringing a textile pavilion to the UK for the first time, the Peru Pavilion will showcase six manufacturers specialising in high-quality alpaca wool from the raw material right through to garment production, as well as cotton and other natural mixtures.

The main Indian Pavilion at this year’s Source Fashion, in collaboration with the Wool and Woollens Export Promotion Council, will showcase 20 established garment and textile exporters specialising in wool, woollen and acrylic fibres. The exhibitors will be showing full garments including men’s, women’s and kidswear as well as a selection of fabrics and raw materials. These exhibitors are regular export partners to the UK retail industry and already work with some big retailers in white label production.

The China Pavilion will present a selection of high-quality Chinese manufacturers ranging from full garment manufacturing through to raw materials, fabrics, cashmere and components.

Other producers and manufacturers attending Source Fashion from across Europe and the UK include:

• Mivania - an Italian knitwear manufacturer producing garments in 100% cashmere and cashmere blends.
• SATCoL (Salvation Army Trading Company) - a charity-owned textiles collector in the UK, actively working with retailers to reduce their carbon footprints.
• Kusilas - a Spanish company monitoring all the stages of the production process.
• Prime Casual - based in Leicester, UK, they specialise in the design and manufacture of ladies clothing from fast fashion, wholesale to bespoke tailoring.
• Athos Pallas - a fashion and textile agency located in Thessaloniki, Greece.

ISKO has signed the Dutch Denim Deal for circular denim. The Denim Deal, a public-private initiative, was launched by the Dutch government following the EU Green Deal and the Circular Action Plan and includes agreements to make the denim textile chain more circular. In the deal, more than 40 parties, such as Scotch & Soda, PVH and Soorty, are working together to improve post-consumer textiles in the denim industry and make fiber recycling the new norm. The signatories cover a wide range of manufacturing companies, brands and stores, collectors, sorters, cutters, and weavers.

The main objective is to collectively produce a total of 3 million jeans with (a minimum of 20%) post-consumer recycled cotton (PCR) by the end of 2023. In addition, all parties have agreed that they will work together towards the standard of at least 5% recycled textiles in all denim garments as quickly as possible. The Denim Deal is also an opportunity to set up a 'reverse supply chain' for recycled cotton and create a systemic change to close the denim cycle.

Although the denim industry still has a negative image due to its high carbon footprint, in recent years many good steps have been taken in the field of recycling. But these steps are on a small scale, limiting the overall impact.
"The Dutch Denim Deal fits perfectly into ISKO's circular strategy," says Marc Lensen, ISKO Head of Global Communication. "Our scale and knowledge of sustainable technological solutions will increase the overall impact and accelerate circularity in the denim chain.”