Global sustainability initiative Fashion for Good today launches its new project, Sorting for Circularity USA, which focuses on the North American textile-to-textile recycling market. External brand partners are Adidas, Inditex, Levi Strauss & Co. and Target, and external partners are Eastman, H&M and Nordstrom.
The 18-month project aims to create “the most representative snapshot of textile waste generated in the United States,” according to a press release, and will build on learnings from the Sorting for Circularity Europe and India projects. The project also aims to capture and assess the economic benefits of textile-to-textile recycling and ensure that used textiles are “returned to their best and highest end use”.
Project includes consumer survey and textile analysis
Accordingly, part of the project will be a comprehensive consumer survey to capture a garment’s journey from closet to end-of-life. In addition, a comprehensive analysis of these old textiles using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is performed to understand their composition.
“If we come together on this critical issue, the data will enable us to advance the conversion of textile waste as a feedstock for our advanced recycling technologies, where we break down waste materials into their basic building blocks and create new materials without compromise,” explains Claudia de Witte, head of sustainability at Eastman.
Michigan-based environmental consulting firm Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) will partner with the NYS Center for Sustainable Materials Management to lead the project, driving dissemination and analysis of the consumer survey.
With support from the Amsterdam-based advisory organizations Circle Economy and SMART (Secondary Materials And Recycled Textiles Association), RRS will also carry out the textile composition analysis in the US. SMART is one of the largest trade associations for recycled fiber and will be in touch with its members in the recycled clothing and recycled fiber industry to get involved in the project. Circle Economy was co-leader of the European project and will lead the implementation of the waste analysis method.
“We are pleased to break new ground with the ‘Sorting for Circularity USA’ project and to open up the North American market. After successful initiatives in regions as large as Europe and India, given the volume of the domestic consumer market and the post-consumer textile landscape, the US offers a great opportunity for innovation and circular economy,” comments Fashion for Good Managing Director Katrin Ley.
Textile waste is the fastest growing segment of the US waste stream
Textile waste is now the fastest growing segment of the US waste stream, and the amount of discarded textiles is increasing each year. According to the World Bank, only part of this waste is reused and 85 percent ends up in landfill.
Although the demand for recycled fibers is increasing, according to a survey by the US Environmental Protection Agency USEPA, access to the waste supply is limited. “Key elements to supporting the growth of textile-to-textile recycling include understanding the material composition, volume and location of used textiles, and expanding access to textile recycling,” explains Fashion for Good.
“This project will provide the basis for informed investment and infrastructure decisions and demonstrate the business case for alternative revenue streams from a vast untapped resource,” adds Ley.
Accordingly, the project results will serve as a basis for decision-making to unleash the necessary investments and measures to scale up collection, sorting and recycling innovations.
“We are driving design and material innovations to produce more clothing that can be used more often and made using safe, recycled and renewable raw materials that contribute to a more circular product cycle in which recycling infrastructure plays a vital role closing the cycle. Through our partnership with Fashion for Good and the series of ‘Sorting for Circularity’ projects, we hope to find a way to advance the circular economy to find scalable solutions that reduce the impact of the current ‘Take, Make, Waste’ model reduce,” summarizes Jeffrey Hogue, Chief Sustainability Officer at Levi Strauss & Co.