Denmark’s First Major Textile Recycling Project Makes Headway
For the past three years, a Danish consortium has been developing new technologies that can “transform” textile waste into new fabrics—setting new standards for fashion design and focusing on longer lifespans and improved recyclability.
Now, the alliance has found two new methods for recycling polyester waste.
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Dubbed Recycling Technologies and Sustainable Textile Product Design (ReSuit), the Denmark-based project—managed by the Danish Technological Institute—gathered leading players in the industry, including Bestseller, in pursuit of achieving a more sustainable textile industry and recycle all textile waste in Denmark.
After several years of R&D, the project has allegedly proven that polyester textile waste can be successfully recycled into new polyester textiles.
It is not a particularly groundbreaking discovery, as mechanical and chemical recyclers have been recycling polyester into new garments for years. However, ReSuit claimed that it succeeded in recycling items previously deemed too difficult to recover by using a “special method” of transforming the clothing into bio-oil and chemical building blocks to be produced in new polyester and plastic-based materials.
“The project encompassed research into two distinct technologies. The first, a dissolution process, while not entirely novel, has yet to be implemented on a large scale,” Camilla Skjønning Jørgensen, innovation manager at Bestseller, told Sourcing Journal. “However, significant efforts are underway to develop and refine this technology to achieve scalability.”
Bestseller is “fully aware” of the challenges in the fashion industry, but acknowledges that it also has the “size and expertise” to be part of the solution,” Skjønning Jørgensen continued. That’s why the Jack & Jones owner entered Resuit with “open eyes” and an “understanding that innovation plays a crucial role” in transforming the industry into a more sustainable one, she continued. And innovation is best when it is collaborative.
“Therefore, ReSuit is a unique project that takes a holistic approach to the problem by considering all stages of the clothing lifecycle—from design to usage and recycling,” Skjønning Jørgensen said. “This focus on the entire process is crucial for creating a more sustainable future in the fashion industry.”
Bestseller has long invested in greener polyester. The group partnered with Ambercycle last summer on a limited-edition dress made with regenerated polyester and financially backed the material startup’s first solution, Cycora, in 2022.
ReSuit’s primary focus has been on polyester, as it accounts for half of all clothing fibers worldwide.
The group’s first method “opened the door” to textile-to-textile recycling of the synthetic fiber. The dissolution process separates and purifies the polyester from color and additives, resulting in recycled polyester (rPET) of a high enough quality that it can be used to produce new polyester.
The second technique focused on textiles that are typically deemed too intricate to be suitable candidates for recycling. This process involves hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL)—aka, using water, heat and pressure to convert the textile stream into oil products that can be used to produce plastic, fuel or synthetic textile fibers. The HTL technology “transforms” the clothing waste into bio-oil that can be upgraded into chemical building blocks. The polyester component of the waste, ReSuit said, is transformed into terephthalic acid (TPA), a primary building block in polyester.
“While the [HTL] technology is not new, it represents a novel approach to the technology in the context of textile waste recycling, to our knowledge,” Skjønning Jørgensen said. “The notable aspect of HTL is its versatility in handling diverse waste compositions, including heavily contaminated materials.”
The third “concrete” result of ReSuit’s efforts is Bestseller’s Circular Design Guide, which exists as part of the project with the goal of inspiring the industry to design with circularity in mind and educating brands and retailers on how to shift toward more circular business models.
“Our involvement in every facet of the project has generated concrete outcomes, such as the development of a circular design guide. This guide now serves as an integral component of our educational initiatives and our ongoing efforts to advance circularity in all aspects of our work,” Skjønning Jørgensen said. “Additionally, we remain committed to exploring the potential of HTL and other chemical recycling technologies. Our particular focus lies in identifying opportunities for pilot testing, implementation, and scaling up these technologies. By doing so, we aim to contribute to the advancement of sustainable solutions and the transition towards a circular economy.”
The ReSuit consortium includes Aarhus University, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Crossbridge Energy A/S, Elis Denmark, Behave Green, Danish Technological Institute and Design School Kolding. It is supported by Innovation Fund Denmark, which received 13 million Danish kroner ($2.12 million) in 2021.
