.svg)
In 2016 we are making High Value Recycling happen with three exciting new pilots. For the three pilot we work with G-Star RAW, ReBlend and Reshare. Read about the pilot below:G-Star RAW & Circle Economy: Making the Case for Closed Loop Textiles G-Star expressed their ambition of closing the textiles loop by becoming the newest member of Circle Economy’s Circular Textiles Program! Inspired by the potential opportunities that could emerge from the realization of a circular economy, G-Star will join forces with other Circle Economy members, Wieland Textiles and Recover to create a business case for high value (textile-to-textile) recycling.
ReBlend: 100% recycled! 100% fashionable!Circle Economy is excited to welcome ReBlend to it’s member base and support their new line of 100% recycled yarn for the fashion and upholstery market.At the end of January, a new 16 kg batch of 100% recycled yarns arrived from Spanish Recover at the ReBlend office in Amsterdam. In the coming weeks, these yarns will be sampled into beautiful knitted and woven fabrics that can be used for high fashion garments and stylish upholstery fabrics. If sampling is successful, a total of 4 colours will be taken into production by our innovative recycling partner Recover.This recent match between Circle Economy’s members ReBlend and Recover has resulted in the production of over 4 tons of recyclable post consumer textiles. These used textiles are not suitable for re-wear and contain blended materials (cotton, polyester, acryl ao.). While at the moment these recyclable mixed textiles have little value to the textile recycling industry (e.g. they are incinerated, landfilled or downcycled), high value (textile-to-textile) recycling promises to dramatically change this landscape!With their new line of 100% recycled yarn, ReBlend aims to show the market that used textiles can be transformed into new, beautiful, high quality products. This March, the company plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign for a new fashion collection in close cooperation with high end fashion label BYBROWN. At the same time, pilot projects for upholstery will be initiated in cooperation with interior design company Ahrend.
ReShare: Recycling old Dutch Army Uniforms into new textiles!We are proud to announce Circle Economy is partnering with ReShare: Part of the Salvation Army and Recover in a high value (textile-to-textile) recycling project. Already for some time, ReShare has been faced with the challenge of finding a sustainable and safe solution for approximately 140 tons of old Defence workwear that they have collected. Safety issues prevent the uniforms from being worn again and they have remained most securely stored. However, incineration was never an option and so ReShare has been looking at ways to keep the textile materials in the loop. In this project, several tons of old Dutch navy and army uniforms will be transformed into new yarns that can be used for a wide variety of new textile products. The aim of the project is to not only show the market that textile-to-textile recycling is technically feasible, but also prove that there is an attractive business case compared to alternative scenarios of incineration and downcycling. In addition to developing innovative models to keep used Defense uniforms in the loop, ReShare is also pushing the market for post consumer textile recycling forward as part of the FIBERSORT project.
“Ultimately, old uniforms, workwear and other used textiles should not go to waste but should be put back into the loop via high value (textile-to-textile) practises. We are happy that we can contribute positively to the circular movement in the textile sector through this partnership.”
- Michel Rosenquist, Manager relations at Salvation Army ReShare
