Worn Again Tech Transforms Old Textile Into Raw Materials

This is going beyond recycling. Worn again technology, centered in London, says it's developed a chemical process to turn used polyester and cotton clothing, along with PET plastic bottles and packaging, back into raw material substance. The startup is aiming really fast to scale up the next couple of years and see the pellets and pulp it creates spun again into shirts, pants and a lot more.

The corporation saw an investment last year of almost $6.4 million (U.S.) and has spent more than six years on research and development. Fashion store H&M has signed on, together with partners which include Sulzer Chemtech, one of the world’s biggest chemical engineering companies; Mexico-primarily based Himes Corp., a garment manufacturer; Directex, a textiles manufacturer, and Future Tech Lab, run by means of fashion investor Miroslava Duma.

Based on the Grimm fairy tales, a girl was able to spin straw into gold in Rumpelstiltskin. Turning antique/worn cloth back into raw materials? "it sounds too good to the ears, however, it's true and it's coming, " says Worn Again CEO Cyndi Rhoades.

Not only are the end products of this tech startup doing well in quality, but they are also competitive in price. That translates to an alternative to clothing made with cotton that is grown using lots of water, insecticides, and land, and polyester crafted from oil byproducts. The alternative also is one which can be without problems adopted to assist transform the textile industry, Rhoades says.

The inspiration: In 2015, about 55 million tons of polyester and cotton went into textiles internationally. By 2030, that range is projected to grow to about 63% due to population increase and different factors, in line with various industry reports, Rhoades says.

"We're going to need about 90 million tons to meet demand," she stated. luckily, current textiles and plastic bottles that aren't being re-used are enough to meet that call.

Every year, about 53 million tons of textiles are buried in landfills around the world. And less than 1% of textiles around the world are gathered go back into making new textiles.

With huge limits on cutting-edge recycling techniques, like separating mixed polyester and cotton that make up most textiles, Worn again technologies has labored to provide "virgin equivalent outputs."

 


"Essentially what we do is separate polyester and cotton, decontaminate everything, strip out dyes and finishes, and we are able to create or recapture a decontaminated raw material" Rhoades stated. That amounts to polyester pellets and cellulosic pulp that may be turned into apparel like a virgin product, all performed in an environmentally pleasant, closed-loop method.

The Worn Again process will separate, decontaminate and extract polyester polymers and cellulose (from cotton) from non-reusable textiles, as well as plastic bottles and packaging, to go back into new products.

'Exciting, Pioneer Days'

Having a technique in place for growing new raw materials will incentivize collection, Rhoades says, and machines like Fibersort, a parallel technology, will help make the procedure more efficient.

"So while we construct a huge plant ... suddenly, the potential for being able to divert textiles from landfills right into a procedure that could really generate revenue for a production plant and create a global commodity, it will be a huge shift in collection, infrastructure and what cities will be able to do," stated Rhoades.


Rhoades says production plants using the Worn again process are planned for the future; she won't mention locations however stated New York as an instance of a place "at the heart or the source of the feedstock."

The Company plans to launch its first industrial demonstration plant in 2021. Collaborators and partners have been key components, the CEO says.

Rhoades and others at Worn Again technologies aren't wearing clothing made from rejuvenated textiles yet. She says seeing clothing available in shops is at the least a couple of years away. "We have done all of the proof of concept work. What we're focusing on now is optimization of the process and the scaling of the technology"

The purpose is to license and build plants in the next 10 years.

"It's just going to change everything. These are exciting, pioneer days."