Accelerating Circularity

At Accelerating Circularity, we believe the textile industry can lead the way in creating positive impacts on the environment. This vision requires collaboration, innovation, and change at scale. Our team is excited to announce the members of our European steering committee, who are joining together to advance our mission to build circular systems that turn used textiles into new raw materials. The Accelerating Circularity European Steering Committee:  Avery Dennison Enviu Erdotex Group GR3N SA Lenzing Group lululemon Nike PUMA Group Recyclatex Group Reju TOMRA WWF ZDHC Roadmap to Zero Programme #CircularEconomy #TextileRecycling #Collaboration

Looking for some weekend reading? Look no further. Check out our newest blog on Megapaca, a Guatemalan-based company revolutionizing sustainable fashion by creating markets for secondhand clothing. With over 120 stores across Latin America, Megapaca is setting the standard for textile reuse and waste reduction. Read the full story and see how Megapaca is leading the charge towards a circular fashion future. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ecyz8GHi

Circularity is a team sport, requiring collaboration and innovation from all corners of the textile industry. We are excited to welcome new members to our U.S. steering committee, alongside some familiar faces, as we continue our mission to build circular systems that turn used textiles into new raw materials. Together, we are driving the future of textile recycling and making a positive impact on the environment. Let’s continue to transform the industry, one garment at a time. The Accelerating Circularity U.S. Steering Committee: Nike Lenzing Group TOMRA GR3N SA Avery Dennison Ralph Lauren Circulose Target Parkdale Mills, Inc. Unifi Manufacturing, Inc. (makers of REPREVE® ) Bank & Vogue Ltd/Ltée. Gap Giotex WM AFIRM Group #CircularEconomy #TextileRecycling #Collaboration ---

As part of our belief that textiles are too good to waste, we endeavor to find use for even the most difficult materials to work with. That's why we created the Circular Systems for Trim and other Ignored Materials (CISTM) program, to build circular systems for the bad boys of post-consumer and post-industrial materials. Our team, including Karla Magruder, Martha Willis, and Alina Rensch, recently spent two days visiting members of our CSTIM working group across Europe to discuss the state of sorting in recycling systems and what challenges need to be overcome to achieve scale. Our discussions with our close collaborators and sorting innovators at Avery Dennison, Coats, Refiberd, YKK, Valvan, Erdotex Group, and TOMRA yielded fresh insights into the sorting needs of the circular textile systems we are building. Key takeaways: 🚀 The need for speed in sorting for recycling is clear: these are the lowest value post-consumer textiles, so they need to be processed quickly and cost-effectively to realize any economic value. 🔍 NIR (Near-Infrared) Technologies are the most commonly used for detecting fiber composition, color, and structure in used textiles. While not perfect, they are efficient and reliable. 📜 Legislation will play a crucial role in determining how and where sorting for recycling develops in the future. We are excited about the progress being made and look forward to addressing these challenges to build effective and scalable circular systems for textiles. A big thank you to our partners for hosting our team and sharing your knowledge. #CircularEconomy #TextileRecycling #NIRTechnology #AcceleratingCircularity #TextileInnovation #SortingTechnologies

We're having a blast at #FutureFabricsExpo 2024 showing off the latest outputs from our textile-textile recycling trials. Keep your eyes peeled for Martha Willis at our booth, and stop by for a chat! A big thank you to The Sustainable Angle for putting on this great event.  

Looking for something to watch over the weekend? We've got you covered. The Global Cotton Report Webinar replay is now live on our youtube. Hear from Karla Magruder, Sarah Coulter, and Martha Willis as they dive into the key outcomes and learnings from our multi-year textile-to-textile recycling trials for cotton. Check it out at the link below! https://lnkd.in/eQvQJZ7x

Don't miss Martha's insightful takeaways from the Outdoor by ISPO! Dive into her recap on emerging polyester recycling technologies and the future of the #CircularEconomy 👇

As part of our ongoing partnership with Goodwill, ACP has facilitated the creation of four regional textile processing hubs within the Goodwill network. The hubs’ business plans support their core missions by leveraging the full spectrum of second life channels to steward used textiles to their next, highest use and value. This work, done with support from fellow recycling systems experts at Sortile and engagement from TOMRA, is a major unlock for scaled production of postconsumer textile recycling feedstock in North America.   “Goodwill is the original reuse organization, especially for textiles. Reuse remains core to our mission, and through our collaboration with ACP we want to ensure that textiles at the end of their usable or reusable lives remain in the circular economy.” – Joyel Bennett, SVP of Operations and Services at Goodwill of the Finger Lakes. Goodwill of the Finger Lakes leads the Northeast Hub, which represents nine Goodwill organizations located throughout the Northeast Corridor and serves over one-third of the US population. In collaboration with ACP, the Northeast Hub carried out a year-long sorting study which showed they have the potential to provide over 10 million lbs. of cotton feedstock, 7 million lbs. of polycotton feedstock, and 5 million lbs. of polyester feedstock to textile recyclers annually.   “The collaborative model we’ve developed for the Northeast Goodwill Hub provides the scale to meet the tonnage demand and single point of contact brands and recyclers need for sourcing no longer wearable textiles for the feedstock your future customers expect.” – Jennifer Lake, CEO at Goodwill of the Finger Lakes.   In our continuous efforts to #catalyzecollaborations, we encourage recyclers to connect with our partners at each of the Goodwill hubs to bring more post-consumer feedstock into circular systems!

You won't want to miss this! Join us this Thursday for the Global Cotton Report webinar, details below:

We are thrilled to have our very own Martha Willis on the program at OutDoor by ISPO! Attendees can catch Martha at the EOG Stage in Hall A3 from 10:30-11:00 AM delivering the presentation "Introduction to Circular Systems", and then again on the same stage from 1:00-2:00 PM for the rPolyester: Reality Zone Workshop. Martha will be joined by fellow circularity experts Eduardo Miguel Santos and Bruno Langlois for the workshop. Join them to find out the reality of what is commercially available in recycled polyester, explore the ins and outs of recycling and fiber formation of recycled polyester materials, and debate how challenges can become opportunities. We'll see you there!