A new technology that can automatically sort fabrics into 42 different fractions based on their fibre composition, structure and colour has been brought to market in a move aimed at overhauling textile-to textile-recycling.
The Fibersort machine utilises Near Infrared (NIR) based technology to sort about 900 kgs of post-consumer textiles per hour and has been unveiled this week by the Fibersort Consortium.
First announced by Dutch non-profit organisation Circle Economy in 2018, Fibersort technology is the result of a project in collaboration with partners Valvan Baling Systems, Reshare, Procotex, Worn Again, and Smart Fibersorting, with funding from Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) – a European Territorial Cooperation Programme funded by the European Commission.
The project aims to address two main challenges: the environmental need to reduce the impact of virgin textile materials, as well as the development of new business models and open markets for the growing amounts of recyclable textiles in northwest Europe.
“The accelerating consumption and disposal practices in fashion cause textiles entering the market to reach their end-of-use rapidly,” the Consortium says. “In northwest Europe alone, around 4,700-kilo tonnes of post-consumer textile waste is generated every year. On average, only 30% of these textiles are collected separately – the rest is lost within household waste.”
It adds in the “best-case scenario” these textiles are sold in the second-hand market both locally and internationally, with the rest considered non-rewearable due to their unsuitability for the second-hand market or the market saturation that second-hand clothing is currently facing.
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By GlobalData“Almost all of these textiles are currently being downcycled, incinerated or landfilled. Nevertheless, 24% of the textiles collected have the potential to be recycled into new textiles, but currently are not.”
“Collaboration between all different stakeholders in the end-of-use value chain is essential to the success of this project,” the Consortium says.
It adds automated sorting technologies could enable the industry to turn non-rewearable textiles that currently have no other destination than downcycling, landfill or incineration into valuable feedstock for textile-to-textile recycling.
“There are clear opportunities to successfully integrate automated sorting technologies and recycled post-consumer textiles across the value chain. Over the past years, innovation has spurred across this sector of the industry. However, several challenges remain to ensure the long-term implementation of these technologies in relation to financial and technical feasibility as well as the opportunities to scale. Collectors, sorters, recyclers, manufacturers, brands and policymakers have both opportunities and responsibilities to address these challenges.”
