Tinder for Textiles
At Accelerating Circularity (ACP), our mission is to divert textiles from landfill for use in textile-to-textile recycling. We need to be the Tinder for textiles, making connections that meet shared desires.
Unlike Tinder, however, ideal “matches” in the case of circular textiles require compatibility with many others in the circular supply network. Think of it as needing to be matched with an entire community. Key to our work is to understand “what goes into” and “comes out of” every step in a circular supply network. This means that each step must have the right stuff for connections between each community member.
Our research is highlighting challenges for making the connections necessary for circularity. Here are a few examples.
Among Brand & Retailer survey respondents:
40 % cited blended fibers as a hurdle to adopting circular strategies
20% are designing for single fiber recycling, though it is not always economical or practical to keep single fiber waste sorted and free of contaminants
Additional hurdles
Cost
Commercialization of recycling technologies
During follow up phone calls, we learned that Brands & Retailers blend fibers for a number of reasons including performance, lower duty rates, and cost. Additional chemistry is being added to fibers and fabrics as consumers seek new performance attributes, especially with the advent of COVID, which has increased demand for anti-microbial treatments.
When it comes to suppliers (fiber producers, yarn spinners, fabric mills, and garment & textile manufacturers), we see that Brand & Retailer choices affect the rest of the supply chain in ways that challenge the requirements for circular recycling.
Suppliers tell us:
Collectors are looking for specific fibers and fiber blends
Single fiber waste is easiest to move to recycling systems
Manufacturing processes and costs both are issues for sorting for recycling
Brands & Retailers are requesting cost neutral circular systems
ACP is still identifying more connection points, and we are working on connecting the entire community. Just like Tinder, we have a better chance for making connections with more participants. Please fill out our surveys. Make a circularity match possible.
