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waste?'; and pressure from consum- ers on brands to find a solution to this problem. "We are very far along with mechanical recycling, but what we call 'the prep' – collecting, sortation and deconstruction of the material part of the supply chain – is just now forming," shares Bolick. "ere are a lot of new companies trying to play in this space, and that's great, because we need them." rough involvement with the non-profit Accelerating Circularity, Unifi is now doing various trials at its North Carolina facility with a focus on post-consumer waste recycling, and how Unifi can take this waste and make sure it doesn't go to a landfill. B olick cites Accelerating Circularity's willingness for open cross-industry collaboration as a welcome approach. "It's like the companies take their name off the front of their jersey. You feel like you're all on the same team and allows us to openly discuss the issues." Bolick served as moderator during a panel discussion on the topic of circularity at the Southern Textiles Association (STA) Summer Marketing Forum 2022. Panelist Raymond Randall, senior manager, textiles - sustainability growth solutions at Waste Management explained, "We can collect, we can sort, but capacity is the third leg in this stool that is still needed for success." New equipment and tech processes are ramping up at WM to advance circularity, according to Randall, who highlighted WM's established recycling relationship with Unifi and a current project underway with a uniform supplier. "Textile-to-textile recycling is the next evolution for our indus- try," said Tricia Carey, director of global business development denim and Americas, Lenzing, and panel participant, who sees the industry moving from a supply chain to a supply network – a sentiment shared by Bolick, Randall and pan- elists Bob Carswell, R&D director at Material Return and Daniel Mason, president of Leigh Fibers. "In the past, textile waste was looked at as someone else's prob- lem, but now waste is becoming an asset," commented Carey. For example, Lenzing's Refibra fabric, made of upcycled cotton scraps from pre- and post-con- sumer cotton waste and Lenzing Lyocell fibers, has been embraced by industry. Lenzing, like Unifi and WM, par tners with Accelerating Circularity, and as such is involved in regional textile-to-textile recy- cling trials. Lenzing has two trials currently underway. "It's a great start," said Carey. When asked what it will take to make textile-to-textile recycling mainstream, Leigh Fibers' Mason, stated, "Information to the general public; More investment in younger companies coming in with process- ing technologies, and convenience of recycling participation by con- sumers." Carswell, of NC-based Material Return, added, "Funding to innovate sortation, recycling infrastructure and consumer edu- cation." Carey proposed, "good governance, designing for recy- clability, buying less, and businesses that see value in the concept of deGrowth." Coming Full Cirql on Footwear Earlier this year OrthoLite announced the launch of Cirql, a recyclable and industrially compostable foam created as an alternative to conventional footwear plastics. Cirql is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. e flagship factory, the Cirql Center of Excellence, is designed for zero-waste production and end- of-life solutions. The company, based in Amherst, MA, is working to set up end-of-life infrastructure, which has been a missing link in the supply chain, and at the same time working with brands to encourage consumers to return footwear for recycling purposes. "We are making great progress," says Kristin Burrows, OrthoLite's chief brand officer. "We'll be moving from this pre-launch phase into our brand launch phase in 2023 as planned." e company has expanded its team on the sales and development side as well as engineering based on interest and anticipation of adequately serv- ing brand partners, according to Burrows, and in addition, built out the factory in Vietnam while continuing to build up and refine the spec on the product. "One of the most exciting things is that we've continued to inno- vate around the development of Cirql, beyond a midsole into other applications such as insoles and upper materials," states Burrows, explaining that has always been part of OrthoLite's plan. e polymer has proved to have the flexibility the company hoped for, according Kintra Fibers co-founder & COO, Alissa Baier-Lentz shows how the company's bio-based, compostable polyester can replace traditional biodegradable polyester and nylon. OrthoLite Cirql's chemical-free foaming production process. sportstylemag.com • sportstyle November/December 2022 • 39

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