Specialty Fabrics Review August 2024 - 69

British textile
collection efforts
support recycling
Just as it is elsewhere, what to
do with unwanted clothing is a
nagging problem in the U.K.,
where it is estimated that homes
there contain 1.6 billion items
of unwanted clothing that could
be used, reused or recycled,
according to nongovernmental
organization Wrap.
Oxfam and Marks & Spencer
Giving people a better option is
fueling a partnership between
nonprofit Oxfam and major British
multinational retailer Marks
& Spencer. Unwanted clothing
donated by the public in Oxfam
shops or at M&S stores is resold
in Oxfam shops or overseas
or is recycled. Consumers can
participate in a trial program in
which they can go to the Oxfam
website and order a prepaid postal
donation bag to send in clothing
that has been separated into two
groups: those that are good quality
and wearable and those that are
unwearable but too good to
throw away.
The trial is an initiative of
the ACT Project, led by the U.K.
Fashion and Textile Association,
which is seeking to establish a
new framework resulting in a
U.K.-based automated sorting
and preprocessing facility that
will recycle clothing unsuitable for
resale. The recycled clothing will
be used to create new clothing in
a completely circular system.
Salvation Army U.K.
In other efforts, the U.K.'s Salvation
Army Trading Company Ltd. (SATCoL) is
partnering with Project Plan B in Project
Re:claim to recycle polyester back into
feedstock and yarn on a commercial
scale. The Fibersort recycling machinery
was installed at its automated sorting
and processing center in Kettering,
England, in January. The facility sorts
about 65,000 tonnes (71,650 U.S. tons)
of donated textiles annually. In addition
to clothing donations, SATCoL is
working with companies to donate
100% polyester items.
" We have had a very successful start
to this project and will be moving to
commercial levels of production over
the next couple of months, " said Tim
Cross, CEO of Project Plan B and the
Circular Textiles Foundation, in June.
" We are at the stage of processing
pellets and testing them for quality
and suitability for future production
runs ... . We are working with many
brands who are transitioning their
manufacturing models to cater for
fully recyclable garments-such as
the David Luke circular [student
school uniform] blazer. "
TOP: Inside the Project Re:claim commercialscale,
post-consumer polyester recycling plant.
ABOVE: David Luke circular blazers atop Project
Re:claim recycled pellets made from recycled
textiles. From the lining, buttons and zippers to
the interlinings and adhesives, everything has
been rethought and redesigned to be recyclable
at its end of life, to be turned into pellets and
then yarn for future blazers. Images: Salvation
Army Trading Company Ltd.
He adds, " It is clear to us that
circularity in textiles is achievable
and will be a profitable solution that
avoids the use of virgin materials. The
majority of the textiles we are receiving
in have already got a yarn destination
planned for them. We are therefore
confident that if we link the recycling of
textiles to the production of new yarns,
we can grow the volume of recycled
materials in a sustainable way. "
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Specialty Fabrics Review August 2024

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