can help meet circularity goals by
intentionally designing for durability
to extend product life.
Most communities can't accept
textile waste directly from consumers
for recycling, but the apparel industry
is actively developing programs to
recycle both pre- and post-consumer
cotton textile waste on a commercial
scale, as discussed below. Brands can
also design for recyclability, to make
it easier and more cost-effective to
recycle cotton textiles into yarns, fabrics, nonwovens, and an array of
non-textile products, such as insulation, filters, automotive uses, and even
3D printing and injection molding.
As a biological product (cellulose fiber), cotton is naturally biodegradable.
Textiles made of 100 percent cotton can potentially be returned to the
earth to decompose. In studies, cotton microfibers in wastewater were 76
percent degraded in 250 days,
9
and composted 100 percent cotton fabric
was degraded up to 77 percent in 90 days.
10
Brands have even recently
introduced the first fully biodegradable denim apparel.
11
Traditional Recycling of Cotton
Recycled cotton commonly comes from pre-consumer waste, such as fabric
cutting scraps, and is recycled by mechanical processes. Mechanical recycling
involves shredding the waste fabric, separating the cotton fibers, cleaning them,
and spinning them into new yarn. Based on Cotton Incorporated's experience,
12
the main limitation of mechanical recycling is that it yields relatively short
fibers, reducing spinnability and resulting in lower-quality yarns and fabrics.
So recycled cotton oen is blended with other fibers, usually at no more than
20 percent of the fiber content. Another limitation is that only 100 percent
cotton textiles can be mechanically recycled — not blends — and non-cotton
components of products must be removed. As a result, uses of recycled cotton
are limited by cost, availability, and
quality constraints.
Mechanically recycled cotton is
well suited for use in products made
from nonwoven textiles, such as
wipes, furniture padding, bedding,
and hygiene products. Researchers
are also exploring the use of recycled
cotton fibers to reinforce composite
materials — cotton fibers have been
combined with a polymer matrix,
replacing synthetic reinforcing materials.
13
Waste cotton has also been
turned into a cellulose gel that can be used as a 3D printer "ink" or combined
with other materials to be molded or cast into forms to create innovative
materials with special properties.
14
An exciting nontraditional use of recycled cotton is as insulating material
for a variety of applications, such as building insulation and cold-chain
shipping. Some of the denim insulation used in shipping of perishable food
is supplied through Cotton Incorporated's Blue Jeans Go Green™ initiative,
which partners with brands and retailers to collect worn denim apparel with
at least 90 cotton content for recycling.
15
Promising New Recycling Technologies
New recycling technologies hold the promise of producing higher-
quality recycled cotton yarns and fabrics and of being able to handle
blends and post-consumer waste. Researchers and manufacturers are
working on methods for chemical recycling of cotton textiles, based on
turning cotton waste into cellulose solutions that can be extruded as
fibers (a process similar to manufacturing viscose).
16
ese processes
mostly involve combining recycled cotton with other sources of cellulose,
such as wood pulp. Some processes can even chemically separate cotton/
polyester blends into cellulose and polyester.
16
A goal is to increase the
recycled cotton content of textile products without compromising quality.
It's estimated that of the 13.1 million tons of textiles sent to U.S. landfills
or incinerated, 35 percent is currently recyclable, and another 45 percent
could be recycled with advanced technologies.
17
Commercial-scale U.S.
trials are planned to demonstrate the feasibility and value of currently
available recycling processes, with the goal of promoting the establishment
of cost-effective circular textile supply chains.
17
Improving and integrating
textile recycling technologies, both mechanical and chemical, can help to
keep textile waste out of landfills and transform it into "new" raw materials.
Towards a Circular Economy
e goal of reaching a sustainable balance with nature has spurred
exciting developments towards the goal of a circular economy in the textile
industry. However, as Dr. Daystar points out, circularity does not equate
to sustainability — it is a means to sustainability. e environmental
impacts of circular practices still need to be measured to confirm whether
they are truly beneficial. But cotton's durability and biodegradability
make it naturally suited to circular solutions. Recycling cotton textiles,
especially blends and post-consumer waste, poses challenges, but
research and development to overcome these challenges are ongoing, as
manufacturers and brands commit to improving and scaling up cotton
recycling technologies.
n
1. University of Alberta (2021). What Is Sustainability? https://www.mcgill.ca/sustainability/files/sustainability/what-is-sustainability.pdf
2. EPA (2019). Textiles: Material-Specific Data. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data
3. Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (2020). Biodegradability of Plastics in the Open Environment. https://www.sapea.info/wp-content/uploads/bop-report.pdf
4. Sullivan L (2020). How Big Oil Misled the Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-
believing-plastic-would-be-recycled
5. EPA (2021). Plastics: Material-Specific Data. https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data
6. Hale RC, Seeley ME, La Guardia MJ, Mai L, Zeng EY (2020). A global perspective on microplastics. JGR Oceans 125:e2018JC014719. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.
com/doi/full/10.1029/2018JC014719
7. EPA (2020). What You Should Know About Microfiber Pollution. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/documents/article_2_microfibers.pdf
8. Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2021). Redesigning the Future of Fashion. https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/fashion/overview
9. Cotton Incorporated (2019). How Quickly Do Textile Microfibers Degrade in Aquatic Environments. https://cottontoday.cottoninc.com/how-quickly-do-textile-microfibers-
degrade-in-aquatic-environments
10. Li L, Frey M, Browning K (2010). Biodegradability study on cotton and polyester fabrics. Journal of Engineered Fiber and Fabrics 5(4):42–53. https://journals.sagepub.com/
doi/pdf/10.1177/155892501000500406
11. TheIndustry.Fashion (2020). Lee Jeans Launches "Back to Nature" Collection, a Fully Biodegradable Denim Capsule Collection. https://www.theindustry.fashion/lee-jeans-
launches-back-to-nature-collection-a-fully-biodegradable-denim-capsule-collection
12. Cotton Incorporated (2021). Recycled Cotton. https://www.cottonworks.com/topics/sustainability/cotton-sustainability/recycled-cotton
13. Bajpal SK (2015). The use of cotton fibers as reinforcements in composites. In Biofiber Reinforcement in Composite Materials. Faruk O, Sain M, eds. pp. 320-341
14. Latzke JM (2017). The future fabric of our lives. High Plains Journal. https://www.hpj.com/ag_news/the-future-fabric-of-our-lives/article_405f7d9c-bb51-11e7-a45b-
6f74f2fc106f.html
15. Cotton Incorporated (2021). Blue Jeans Go Green™. https://bluejeansgogreen.org
16. Hugill R, Ley K, Rademan K. (2020). Coming full circle: Innovating towards sustainable man-made cellulosic fibres. Fashion for Good. https://fashionforgood.com/wp-
content/uploads/2020/09/Coming-Full-Circle-Innovating-Towards-More-Sustainable-MMCFs.pdf
17. Accelerating Circularity (2021). Putting Textiles to Good Use. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e434df1c42dd46de2822ab1/t/60f7272fa8a12b6232ac9
2a4/1626810160140/Putting+Textiles+to+Good+Use+210720.pdf
textileinsight.com September/October 2021 ~ Textile Insight • 26
