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ReShare: Transforming Old Military Uniforms into Humanitarian Aid Blankets

February 3, 2017
Textiles
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Case Studies

The Challenge

The production of textile fibres is extremely water, land, energy and chemical intensive and relies heavily on finite resources.

To enable our increasing consumption habits, global textile fibre production has risen to ±90 million tonnes per year (the equivalent of ±80 billion garments per year) (Source). According to the report 'Sustainable Textiles for Apparel: Fact, Fiction and Future Prospects', a doubling in the number of consumers and an 84% hike in demand for textile fibres over the next 20 years will stretch resources to their breaking point (Source). This level of production is both economically unstable and ecologically unsustainable.

Today, 20 million tonnes of textiles are being landfilled or incinerated every year in the EU and US alone. An estimated 95% of all these textiles, could be re-worn or recycled (Source). The challenge is how can we curb virgin fibre production and utilise textile waste?

The Approach

In 2016, Circle Economy partnered with Salvation Army ReShare and Recover to explore how used workwear from the Dutch military could be given a second life.

“Ultimately, old uniforms, workwear and other used textiles should not go to waste but should be put back into the loop via high value (textile-to-textile) practises. We are happy that we can contribute positively to the circular movement in the textile sector through this partnership.”

– Michel Rosenquist, Manager relations at Salvation Army ReShare

Leveraging untapped ‘waste’ streams to create new textiles on a large scale would enable a drastic reduction in the need for virgin textile resources and significantly reduce the negative impacts associated with virgin cotton fibre production and textile waste.

High value or textile-to-textile recycling enables leftover textile fabrics or garments that are no longer in use to be redirected back into the textiles loop as recycled raw materials, to create circular fashion.

The ultimate  aim of this strategic collaboration was to unpack the potential of workwear waste streams, and create commercially viable, high-quality products while at the same time achieving significant environmental savings.

Key Learnings

In this project, several tons of old Dutch navy and army uniforms were successfully transformed into new yarns that were used to produce humanitarian aid blankets. The Life Cycle Assessment on the yarns made with 80% recycled military uniforms showed a reduction in water consumption by 87%, decreased energy use by 42% and a reduction in CO2 emissions by 33%, when compared to a non-recycled yarn.

reshare

[cta link="http://circle-economy.com/high_value_reuse_textile_recycling" ]Read the full report[/cta]

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Our Circle Textiles Program has a unique focus on end-of life and whole-systems redesign. The ultimate goal of the program is to achieve a zero-waste industry, by developing and establishing a commercial and scalable model for closing the loop on post-industrial, pre-consumer and post-consumer textiles. We collaborate closely with members of our member network and our community of collectors, sorters, recyclers, brands and cities to develop groundbreaking pilot projects, that can create best practices for the future.

To learn more about how your company can become a member of the Circle Textiles community contact us!

[cta link="mailto:Annerieke@circle-economy.com" ]Contact us[/cta]

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