Accelerating Circularity Forms Working Group, Issues Dictionary of Chemical Recycling Terms
Accelerating Circularity, the circular supply chain nonprofit for the textile sector, has announced the formation of a working group, the Alliance of Chemical Textile Recycling, and the publication of a terminology dictionary as its first initiative.
Called ACTR, the group said its goal is to put a common voice to the mission of addressing the textile industry with a unified message, according to Karla Magruder, founder and president of Accelerating Circularity.
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“We formed this collective to move chemical recycling technology forward, share common definitions and address policies in a collaborative way to maximize the elimination of textile waste to landfills and incineration,” she said.
The ACTR dictionary is designed to educate textile professionals by providing a uniform and broadly accepted body of terminology to get everyone on the same page with chemical recycling. The guide aims to clarify the differences between chemical recycling and mechanical recycling, the process commonly applied to PET plastic bottles, the result of which is somewhat restricted in its application because of the flakes produced by grinding solid plastic and the limitations on their use.
The dictionary is the most recent initiative from one of a number of organizations in recent years to combat the problem of textile waste. Fashion for Good launched the Full Circle Textiles Project in 2020 to promote chemical recycling with the goal of validating and scaling a closed-loop system that transforms cotton-containing textile waste into new man-made cellulosic fibers such as rayon, viscose, lyocell, modal and cupro.
Chemical recycling of cellulosic fibers, those made from wood, would help to address global deforestation. One estimate said that fibers created through chemical recycling could replace at least 90 percent of viscose production volumes coming from ancient and endangered forests by the end of 2025. By 2030, as much as 50 percent of all viscose could be made from next-generation feedstocks. Indeed, just mining a fraction of the estimated 26 million metric tons of waste cotton and viscose textiles landfilled every year could produce the 6.5 million metric tons of viscose currently generated annually.
The process is gaining ground. The first-ever pair of jeans made from 100 percent PCR cotton was introduced last year, made from 50 percent chemically recycled fiber and 50 percent mechanically recycled fiber. They were produced by Mud Jeans, whose co-owner Dion Vijgeboom, always said making a truly 100 percent circular jean was technically impossible. This first pair was constructed with fabric that was 67 percent mechanically recycled fiber and 33 percent chemically recycled fiber in the warp, and in the weft, 67 percent chemically recycled fiber and 33 percent mechanically recycled fiber.
The global textile recycling market in 2022 was valued at about $6.9 billion and is expected to grow to $9.4 billion by 2027, according to Markets and Markets research. Polyester is the most common of all fibers, with a 52 percent share of the global fiber market, yet accounting for 73 percent of textiles in the landfill or incinerated.
Toby Moss, director of new business technologies for the U.K.-based Worn Again Technologies, said the biggest obstacle standing in the way of chemical recycling is that the industry doesn’t understand the rather complex process and its benefits. It’s still quite young, he said.
“It’s a nascent technology and as a result, there are many misconceptions about what it is,” he said, adding that industry professionals want to know how the technologies differ and compete, and how chemical recycling “can benefit the development of the circular economy.”
Tricia Carey, chief commercial officer of Renewcell and secretary of Accelerating Circularity, said establishing a common language was an important first step toward achieving the goals of the non-profit which was founded in 2020.
“The first part of our coming together was to educate and we needed to come up with definite terms,” she said. “We spend all day on what’s happening in chemical recycling but [textile professionals] have to understand the entire landscape.”
“It was clear that the needs and the voice of the chemical recycling industry had to come together to make sure our agenda was being heard,” she added.
Besides Renewcell, other charter members of ACTR include Lycra, Lenzing, and Eastman, as well as such industry innovators as Circ, Sappi, GR3n, CuRe, Infinited Fiber, Worn Again Technologies, and Once More from Sodra. All favor chemical recycling for the way it produces yarns that are similar to virgin in quality and which can be recycled many times over. The chopped plastic flakes from mechanical recycling lose strength, said Jean Hegedus, director of sustainable business development for Lycra.
According to Carolina Sister Cohn, global marketing director for the Tennessee-based Eastman which makes Naia Renew from 60 percent wood pulp and 40 percent recycled waste, many have yet to full grasp the high quality of what is produced by chemical recycling.
“They are brand new and the same quality with the same drape and tenacity,” said Cohn, referring to the fibers resulting from chemical recycling. “It’s not easy to understand but when we get the chance to explain it, they love it.”
ACTR’s dictionary is organized into three different sections. The first is devoted to recycling with definitions of all terms associated with it, from bleaching to contaminants to polymers and methanolysis. The second section is about waste, defining feedstock and disposal of waste, while the third outlines definitions of waste by country, from Bangladesh to Vietnam, in what is a global problem plaguing a global industry.
“This isn’t for the consumers just yet,” Carey said. “First the industry has to understand it better, then pass this information along.”
While it has application in apparel, chemical recycling has many industrial uses, like recycling carpet from offices and hospitals. Eastman has one collection depot for commercial textiles to be recycled, in Tennessee, with another one to open soon in Normandy, France, Cohn said.
The industry’s recycling needle is moving, propelled by brands and retailers that have set goals to become more circular by 2025 or 2030. Those dates are coming quickly, but chemical recycling is still in the early stages, Hegedus said.
“Some commercial operations are at a pilot stage looking for partners to grow with,” she added. “That is one of the reasons for pulling together an organization – we want to help people scale.”
Legislation such as New York’s proposed Fashion Act and California’s pending SB707 could take the textiles industry in the right direction, and observers say appropriate fines will help even more. Massachusetts banned the disposal of apparel and home textiles as of November last year.
Moss of Worn Again Technologies said regulation is the only way to go, with mandated targets especially for recycling clothing.
“We need a clear signal from policymakers that the current situation is both intolerable, immoral and counter-productive,” he said. “Fashion and textiles needs modernizing with new materials that are climate positive.”
