Professional guide

Recycled textiles

Here are some recent launches in the field of recycled textiles.

The Teijin Group has announced the first ever programme in China for collecting and recycling used garments, which it has launched in collaboration with Li Ning Company Limited, the country’s leading sports-apparel company. Recycling will be carried out with Eco Circle, an environmentally friendly closed-loop system incorporating the world’s first technology for the chemical recycling of polyester, which Teijin Fibers introduced in 2002. As part of the programme, Li Ning has designed tennis and training wear using Teijin Fibers’ chemically recycled fibres, which are woven into textiles and dyed by Nantong Teijin Co Limited, a Teijin-group company based in Nantong, China.

This reduces energy consumption and  CO2 emissions by approximately 80%

Under the programme, the Li Ning stores will accept these garments when they are worn out, from where they will be sent via Nantong Teijin to Teijin Fibers’ Matsuyama plant in Japan. After chemical decomposition, they will be converted into polyester raw material, offering purity comparable to that derived from petroleum. The raw material will then be turned into high-quality recycled fibres, which will be used to manufacture new recyclable products. Teijin says repeated recycling achieved with the Eco Circle system reduces both energy consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions, each by approximately 80% compared to conventional petroleum-based processes that are used to produce polyester.

Eco Waterproof Partnership
Teijin Fibers Ltd has also announced the first-ever programme in the marine-clothing industry for collecting and recycling used garments, launched in collaboration with Henri Lloyd, the UK-based global brand of marine apparel. Teijin Fibers’ Eco Storm, a recyclable, waterproof and breathable material made from recycled fibres laminated with a highly durable thin polyester film, will be incorporated in sailing wear featured in Henri Lloyd’s 2010 Blue Eco Range. Under the programme, Henri Lloyd’s Blue Eco partners will accept these garments from their customers after they are worn out, from where they will be sent to Teijin Fibers’ Matsuyama plant in Japan. After chemical decomposition, they will be converted into polyester raw material, offering purity comparable to that derived from petroleum. The raw material will then be turned into high-quality Eco Circle fibres, which will be used to manufacture new recyclable products.

Italy's Prato area certifies regenerated textiles
The wool industry in Prato, Italy, has banded together to launch a new label for ecofriendly regenerated wool products – Cardato Regenerated CO2 Neutral. Previewed in January and presented during this month’s Première Vision, in Paris, the label is a joint initiative by the Prato Chamber of Commerce and Consorzio Cardato – the Consortium for the Development and Exploitation of Cardato Textiles. The Cardato Regenerated CO2 Neutral brand certifies both the carbon footprint of the textile production process and the use of regenerated raw materials.

To carry the label, products must be produced in Prato, produced with at least 70% of recycled material (recycled clothing or textile off-cuts) be made by mills that have accounted for their CO2 emissions and have purchased emission credits from the Prato Chamber of Commerce. The credits purchased must correspond to production volume. Certificates are issued to individual lots of products, in order to allow businesses to eliminate only the emissions of the textiles that they eventually sell. Three businesses that produced the first ever collections adopting the new textile are: Lanificio Fratelli Balli, Lanificio Nello Gori, and Lanificio Mario Fiaschi. Twenty-two thousand tons of ‘rags’ that have been produced with the Cardato technique are recycled in Prato every year. This yarn is produced with virgin fibres, obtained from recycled textiles or from new or used off-cuts. Cardato production is characterised by the use of short and heterogeneous pieces of yarn that are mixed together to create various textile combinations. (Source: Impact)