Accelerating Circularity updates USA trial status and partners

USA

Accelerating Circularity, Inc. (ACP) embarked on trials in the USA in the fourth quarter of 2021 to demonstrate that spent textiles are too good to waste. The organization’s mission is to establish systems that will use the embedded value and resources in existing textiles for new products, thereby reducing the approximately 11 million tons of textile waste that goes annually into landfills. *

The trials are meant to help determine if the current infrastructure can support the production of circular products and to identify the areas that need support and development for textile-to-textile circularity to be scaled.

A key learning is that while it is critical to create demand for new sorting and pre-processing outputs for recycling, there are challenges in a market with high demand for current products and a reduced workforce due to COVID19. The new outputs, namely post-consumer cotton and polyester feedstocks, go to the recyclers and are then chemically and mechanically transformed into newly recycled fibres. The new recycled fibres will then be spun or extruded into cotton, polyester, poly/cotton, and Refibra blended yarns. Throughout, data will be collected on quality, aesthetics, and performance and detailed in ACP reporting.

“We are constantly learning as we move ahead with each stage of these trials. One of the valuable outputs that we aim to have from these trials are tool kits that the industry can use to expedite and enhance their own future trials and timelines for circular products,” said Karla Magruder, Founder & President of ACP.

“The scope and scale of the USA project trials include 14 unique recycled products in multiple yarn combinations and fabrics with the aim of manufacturing into a minimum of ~10,000 product units per trial or through a combination of brand partners. The trial participants are essential to making this a successful endeavour. “

“The trials are at the forefront of the industry’s move to circularity. It is the 1st time for a group to develop circular products at scale.  Having the entire value chain from collectors, sorters, pre-processors, recyclers through brands and retailers is critical to success. Everyone is pulling together with the goal of making textile-to-textile recycling possible. An example is brands providing input on what constitutes a commercial product that is feasible using current circular system capabilities.”

The updated list of all USA participants is as follows:

-1888 Mills-fabric mill and direct sales

-Bank and Vogue-feedstock producer

-Carhartt-brand

-Cintas-brand

-Cirtex- feedstock producer

-Cone Mills- yarn and fabric producer

-Contempra Fabrics- fabric mill

-Debrand- collector, sorter, preprocessor

-Eastman- recycler, and fiber producer

-Gap (Banana Republic & Old Navy) -brand and retailer

-Giotex- recycler, yarn producer, and fabric mill

-Goodwill Industries of South Florida- collector, sorter, and preprocessor.

-Gr3N- chemical recycler

-Kontoor Brands-brand

-Lenzing- recycler and fiber producer

-Martex/JBM- collector, sorter, and preprocessor

-Milliken- fabric mill

-Parkdale Mills-yarn producer

-Recover- recycler and fiber producer

-SanMar- brand

-Sort and Export-collector and sorter

-Swisstex- fabric mill

-Target- brand and retailer

-Unifi-recycler, fiber, and yarn producer

-Walmart-brand and retailer

-Waste Management-collector and sorter

*EPA – Textiles: Material-Specific Data

www.acceleratingcircularity.org