Textile Insight

DESIGNING FOR CIRCULARITY Keeping End of Life in Mind, Starting from the Beginning. By Suzanne Blecher IN THE STUDIO/CIRCULARITY NEMO In 2022, outdoor firm NEMO Equipment announced the launch of Endless Promise, a blueprint for products featuring high-performing recycled materials, with confirmed pathways for repair, resale and end-of-life recycling. "We started designing for circularity by working backwards," explained eresa McKenney director of sustainability & government affairs for NEMO. e team worked directly with textile recyclers from the beginning of the design process to understand their recycling requirements. As a result, Endless Promise products are as mono-polymer as possible. "is required careful fabric and trim component choices from day one," commented the exec. e team redesigned its best-selling Forte synthetic sleeping bag as an Endless Promise product. "We swapped out virgin polyester for rPET and made as many trims out of polyester as possible," McKenney said. e team partnered with Unifi to ensure the bag would pass their recyclability testing. en they built up infrastructure – in addition to a current in-house repair program, NEMO teamed with Out&Back, entering the resale market and creating what she described as "a reverse logistics pathway." A QR code Designing a product for circularity is a holistic process that should start at the design stage, allowing for a well-established route from beginning to end. Products are designed for longevity and durability, with lots of divisive choices made along the way. With four separate and innovative approaches, these firms have the same goal – keeping textiles out of the landfill. 26 • Textile Insight ~ Summer 2024 textileinsight.com Backpacks and sleeping bags from NEMO

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