RadiciGroup/PureLoop/Spotstex/Erdotex/Shimano
(Source: RadiciGroup)
An ambitious research and development (R&D) project which demonstrates the feasibility of polyester fiber to fiber recycling has been carried out in a collaboration between PureLoop, Spotstex, Erdotex, and Shimano. It started with Sportstex Srl, Bolzano/Italy, a company specialized in the production of sportswear, and RadiciGroup SpA, Grandino/Italy, a company with many years of experience in circular economy, wishing to collaborate for the recovery of polyester (PET) textile waste such as uniforms for football, volleyball and other sports. The involvement of Pure Loop, a business unit of Erema Group GmbH, Ansfelden/Austria, a company specialized in recovery machinery, was immediate, with the aim of identifying the best available technology to obtain a new textile fiber. To reach this goal, the R&D teams of the 3 companies carried out various tests to achieve a recycled textile product with high technical features. An initial result was obtained using a mixed recovery technique, "dosing" variable percentages of granules from recycled bottles together with PET granules from recycled fabrics. This experience allowed to gradually fine-tune the processes and to achieve, at the end, a yarn 100% derived from the recovery of textile waste.
Once scaled-up, this circularity system will make it possible to easily produce recycled PET garments that, at the end of their life, can be recovered again. Shimano Inc., Osaka/Japan, branded the first jersey to come from this supply chain collaboration. A cycling jersey made with this process is on display for the first time at the ITMA in Milan/Italy from June 8-14, 2023, at the PureLoop stand.
The research project has highlighted a new way of recycling, which allows quality polyester fibers to obtained starting, for example, from pre-owned clothes, for a textile "Closed Loop".
Moreover, Erdotex Group, Ridderkerk/Netherlands, a company specialized in the sorting of used garments, will support the project. Thanks to specific "sorting" procedures, Erdotex will make it possible to feed this innovative recycling process, with the ambition of developing a real industrial process.
In this project, the partner companies proved the feasibility of circular economy and recycling projects to valorize materials otherwise considered as waste, reducing the environmental impact of the textile sector.
