Measuring the Potential for Circular Supply Chains
One of the biggest ways to reduce apparel’s environmental footprint is by diverting textile waste from landfills and incineration. In one example of the impact of circularity, mechanically recycled polyester creates 70 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than polyester made of virgin materials.
With the goal of closing the loop, the Accelerating Circularity consortium is bringing together players in the industry to uncover the potential of textile-to-textile recycling. A new report from the group explores what it will take to develop circular supply chains.
Accelerating Circularity’s research is centered on the East Coast of the United States, covering 20 states and 26 metro areas. It also focuses on polyester, cotton and manmade cellulosic fibers, which together make up 81 percent of the textile market. Within this study region, 5.2 million tons of clothing, linen and household textiles are either put into landfills or incinerated each year. In addition, 90,000 tons of textile waste is generated from mills and other industrial sources.
Currently, less than 1 percent of used clothing is turned into new materials. Just in the United States, 16.9 million tons of textiles end up in municipal solid waste streams. However, 80 percent of post-consumer textiles have at least some potential to be recycled. Thirty-five percent are considered readily recyclable, including 100 percent cotton or cotton-poly blends. A larger portion, 45 percent, has recycling potential, such as materials with small percentages of elastane. The 20 percent of materials that are unlikely to be able to be put through a recycling process are those with features such as coatings, finishes and metallic fibers.
The report focuses on spent textiles, or those that have already gone through repair and reuse and which have no value in their current state, as the target input for recycling.
Creating a circular system for fashion will require participation from numerous players within the value chain. From collecting and sorting discarded textiles to the recycling process and eventual purchasing of recycled materials by brands and retailers, all parts need to work together to scale up circularity. Some elements are expected to be easier to build up than others. A couple anticipated hurdles are growing sorting and preprocessing, primarily because there are limited facilities in the study region that can currently take post-consumer textiles.
“Circularity is about shifting the whole system, from product design to business models to textile collection infrastructure,” said Alice Hartley, director global sustainability at Gap, Inc. “These types of systems challenges call for highly collaborative solutions, because no one company has all the answers or can move the needle itself.”
Compared to what Accelerating Circularity calls “little circles,” in which one brand takes back its own goods and makes them into new inputs for its supply chain, the group is focused on “big circles,” or loops that take back textiles from multiple streams and recycle them for various uses.
Contributing to this spirit of collaboration, Lenzing is a founding member of Accelerating Circularity and is part of the working group that meets monthly.
“I participate in ACP for three main reasons,” said Tricia Carey, director global business development, denim at Lenzing. “First of all, circularity is a goal within the Lenzing Sustainability strategy of Naturally Positive. I value the leadership of Karla Magruder and working with the companies involved in the group.
“After working on circularity developments with brands and communication to consumers, I see there are missing elements,” she added. “I want to be part of the progress needed to move from linear to circular.”
Read the full report here.