Textile Insight

in an environmentally sound manner. However, Techstyler Founder Brooke Roberts-Islam asks why Renewcell and other circular textile technologies are manufactured and marketed in Europe and the U.S., while most apparel manufacturing is in Asia and the global South. She points out in a Forbes article that circular technologies need to be integrated into those textile supply chains. Syre, billed as a "new impact venture," aims to counter this issue by establishing multiple production plants producing circular polyester (cPET) at "hyperscale" across the globe. "Polyester is by far the biggest and fastest growing fiber, meaning the market is substantial. We have secured a seven-year off-take agreement with H&M Group worth a total of $600 million, covering more than half of H&M Group's long-term need for recycled polyester," explains Dennis Nobelius, CEO of Syre. H&M Group is a founder of Syre. e input will be textile waste from textile producers as well as post-consumer waste. "We are establishing a feedstock system with access from all industries that produce and consume polyester. We have a strong regional focus, aiming to source as close to the recycling plants and downstream demand as possible to minimize transport emissions and cost," he continues. Nobelius points out that "the textile industry is now at a tipping point as the European Union and other actors are introducing legislation that will regulate waste and accelerate demand for circular materials." H&M and many other brands currently rely on rPET sourced from bottles, which is not circular. Syre's first plant is being built in North Carolina, where it will provide textile-to-textile cPET at a level of quality and performance on par with virgin polyester. e plant is expected to be online in 2024, with the manufacturing process scaling up for global expansion into Asia and Europe. Importantly, the platform is said to have potential to expand into other fibers and technologies in the future. Overcoming feedstock limitations Using molecular technology to break down mixed textile waste is another way to simplify the textile-to-textile process. BASF, with production sites in Europe, Asia, and North and South America, has developed loopamid, a recycled nylon 6 (PA6) polymer for textiles and apparel components that can be recycled multiple times. Zara has created a jacket "designed for recycling," with fabrics, buttons, filling, hook and loop and zipper all made from loopamid. "e technology behind loopamid enables textile-to-textile recycling of polyamide 6 (PA6) into new, virgin- quality synthetic fibers," explains Dag Wiebelhaus, head of global product innovation, monomers division, BASF. "Our mission is to enable true circularity for the textile industry by overcoming limitations of the current recycling processes – specifically for nylon garments. We are recycling textile waste at a molecular level ready to be transformed into brand new, premium fabrics." Wiebelhaus points out that textile blends of various materials complicate the recycling process. "Separating the polyamide from other materials in these blends can be technically challenging. For loopamid, BASF has developed a process to regain PA6 in a robust process with high yields of pure polyamides. Only what is PA6 in the feed can be recycled back to PA6, i.e., loopamid." How to create a circular future Published in January 2024, an analysis of the global circular fashion market size by Coherent Market Insights values it at $6.09 billion in 2023. e global circular fashion market is expected to reach $11 billion by 2030. Renewcell's Welch concludes, "One of the main learnings we've gained from this experience is that business cannot change an industry alone. For systemic change to happen you need the buy-in of business/brands, legislation with teeth that either comes with tax incentives or subsidies, or there must be transition funds to help off-set the higher costs of new innovations." n textileinsight.com Spring 2024 ~ Textile Insight • 39 Syre plans to create cPET from textile waste at hyperscale. Triarchy's Cellsius collection made with Circulose launched at Neiman Marcus in 2023. Zara employs BASF's Loopamid PA6 in all components of this recyclable jacket.

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