Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1533930
W hile the textile community envisions a circular future, achieving that goal has b e e n a b u m p y r i d e with setbacks sometimes overshadowing advances surrounding issues regarding quality, consistency and investment. However, new developments offering increased efficiency, productivity - and perhaps profitability - are accelerating innovation in textile processing and recycling for circularity. Currently less than one percent of fiber used in clothing is being recycled into new garments and only 0.3% of the fashion industry is truly circular, according to Circle Economy. What look to be circular change makers going forward are high-tech solutions, a modern approach to industry- wide collaboration and legislative action. Historically the textile industry has been cautious about adopting emerging new technologies and manual work prevailed. But brands and suppliers are becoming more receptive to novel solutions. "ere is a need for accuracy with speed and efficiency in order for circular systems to evolve," explains Rebecca Geppert, partnership manager, Refiberd, a West Coast-based startup creating a more transparent textile industry through proprietary fiber sorting technology. "The fastest way to reduce carbon and increase natural resource savings is to use a material that already exists," shares Liz Alessi, sustainability and circularity senior advisor, Liz Alessi Consulting. She adds, "e fabric still has value even if the garment doesn't." Alessi highlights a rapidly evolving category of textile service producers that are giving rise to a new sector of the fashion business that didn't exist 10 years ago. She notes that these systems are replicating worldwide. For example, the U.S.- based ReCircled is opening facilities in Spain and Japan; European firm ReValorem has moved to the States. Like the textile industry itself, "the waste problem is global, too," says Alessi. PROGRESS REPORT Industry Innovations and Impacts Are Laser-Focused on Closing the Loop. By Emily Walzer TECHNOLOGY/CLOSING THE LOOP 24 • Textile Insight ~ Spring 2025 textileinsight.com The ReCircled process advances circularity.