I went to a garment industry trade show in New York City this weekend, and I'm so excited about all the things I learned, particularly about new developments in textile to textile recycling! Here's a few gold nuggets (in thread):
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If you don't know how textile recycling works, basically there are two methods: mechanical recycling, and chemical recycling. In the first, everything is basically chopped up, which typically results in a poorer quality fiber. This stuff tends to just become insulation, etc.
In chemical recycling, the material is cooked / melted into a soup and then reconstituted. It sounds bad, but it does tend to result in higher quality fibers! The trick is using a chemical solution that a) isn't also terrible for the environment, b) can itself be reused.
Tencel lyocell is an example of a reconstituted cellulose process that is itself circular, and that doesn't use a toxic solution (unlike viscose rayon). The process of recycling polyester is simpler because you can basically heat it til it melts, and then reconstitute it into fiber again.
Mixed polyester/cotton blends used to be problematic because there was no method to separate the two fibers, so it couldn't be recycled. But there is a new process by which the polyester can be first melted and "strained" out, leaving the cotton behind, which can then be recycled as well. Exciting!
It will probably be a while before we see these "next generation" recycled fibers widely used. It's a chicken and egg of > they're expensive, so brands won't use them > the only way to make them cheaper is for more brands to use them to create the efficiencies of scale.
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