Specialty Fabrics Review December 2022 - 43

THE EDUCATED
CONSUMER
C
ircularity can only work if everyone participates, and
that means consumers. When people discard clothing,
for example, they will often bring it to a consignment or thrift
store. Their intentions are good, but the fact is that much of it still
ends up in a landfill because it is damaged or otherwise unusable.
So how can consumers be persuaded to get on the circularity bandwagon?
" This is an important and complex question, " says Tanja Karila of Infinited Fiber. " Manufacturers must
be transparent, and design for circularity. But more importantly, they must communicate about recyclability
and the value of recycled products. Consumers also need to know about post-consumer textile sorting-what
can be recycled, what can't, and how to dispose of those textiles. "
And while the circularity goal is attainable, at least on paper, it will take educating consumers to really
get the ball rolling.
" I think it's important for every consumer to understand how their clothing is made, but I also believe it's
important for them to understand where the goods they're buying come from and where they would end up at
the end of their lifecycle, " says Circ's Julie Willoughby. " For the average consumer, I think it is going to take
some time. While we don't want a green premium on the clothes that are made with our technology, there
likely will be one in the beginning. As we scale and as manufacturer scale that green premium is reduced. "
Flynn said she felt partly responsible
for the textile waste problem. " I
found myself standing in the middle
of a massive industry problem that
I helped to create. I was pissed and
incredibly well trained and decided
to dedicate the rest of my career to
finding solutions. "
Flynn partnered with Christopher
Stanev, a textile engineer who held
numerous patents for processing
textiles into their components and
creating new fibers. In 2014, the two
launched Evrnu, based in Seattle,
Wash. Evrnu multiple lifecycle fiber
technologies are used to create
engineered fibers with performance
and environmental advantages, made
from discarded clothing.
" We just cracked the code and got
a fiber that is just as strong or stronger
than petroleum-based options by using
a plant-based backbone, which means
nature knows how to break it down, "
says Flynn.
Given the number of petroleumbased
fabrics used to make clothes
SpecialtyFabricsReview.com 43
today, " we have a direct replacement
for 60% of the market, " Flynn says.
A big win with such technologies
is they keep materials in constant
play, dispensing with waste. Evrnu
and the companies mentioned above
are in various stages of utilizing these
so-called closed-loop technologies
as they produce fabrics that can be
constantly remade into new garments.
Evrnu's first commercially available
fiber is called NuCycl. Products made
with NuCycl can be disassembled to
the molecular level and regenerated
multiple times into new clothing or
home and industrial textiles. The
technology uses repolymerization to
convert the original fiber molecules
into new high-performing renewable
fibers. The company says that even the
toughest type of textile waste-100%
post-consumer-can be turned into
new materials with NuCycl.
Tim Goral is the senior editor of
Specialty Fabrics Review.
Influential designers like Stella McCartney
have joined the circularity bandwagon with
clothing made from Evrnu's NuCycl fiber.
Photo: Evrnu

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Specialty Fabrics Review December 2022

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