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This collection has been built by a community of passionate researchers, students, and industry professionals as part of <a href="https://worldcirculartextilesday.com/" target="_blank">World Circular Textiles Day</a> (WCTD). 


World Circular Textiles Day takes place every year on 8th October.  Our vision is to galvanise the collective ambitions and goals of people, organisations and businesses to reach a fully circular textiles world by 2050. Our mission is to provide a framework for circularity stakeholders to develop and deliver a collaborative, evolving roadmap and to chart circularity’s momentum annually from the 8th of October until 2050.

What does fully circular by 2050 mean?
- Shared textile resources, in the form of products and raw materials, are kept in **continual circulation**.
- Virgin resources are **replaced with circular materials**.
- Dignity, equity, and equality for the **people** involved in all parts of the circular value chain.

We need to know where we stand today to chart how to get to 100% Circularity by 2050. What circular activity is currently happening in the textiles and apparel industry, and where in the world is it happening? The WCTD Collection aims to answer this question by building the world’s largest digital library of circular textiles case studies. 

World Circular Textiles Day is proud to be supported by our 2022-23 Circular Hero Partners:
[Lenzing](https://www.lenzing.com/), [Texaid](https://retailsolutions.texaid.com/), [Bank & Vogue](https://www.bankvogue.com/), [Usha yarns limited](https://ushayarns.com/), [The Conduit](https://www.theconduit.com/), and [Asia Pacific Rayon](https://www.aprayon.com/en/)

## Want to contribute to the WCTD Collection? Sign up and add your circular textiles activities.





World Circular Textiles Day

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Business case

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Collecting waste from households and businesses by means of refuse bins, wheeled bins, containers, etc., and providing treatment, incineration, materials recovery and reclamation, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste

Waste Management

Producing textile and leather products and processing them into apparel and accessories

Fashion and Textiles

Reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste streams within the same industry

Valorise waste streams - closed loop

Using waste materials that have been processed and recycled to produce new products within other industries

Using open loop recycled materials

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

Impacts

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Industries

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The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

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Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

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Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

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Isko, the denim manufacturer owned by Gaziantep, Turkey-headquartered Sanko Holding, is acquiring a licensing agreement for the award-winning Green Machine – the one-of-a-kind technology that fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale developed by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA).
The technology is still at the pilot stage, but is an additional step in Isko’s drive to improve and commercialise recycling technologies which will eventually enable the it to offer a 100% post-consumer recycling solution to all of its customers. In addition, Isko and HKRITA will work together to develop related technology.
“Isko has a total commitment to sustainability and we are constantly looking for new ways of working towards the future of a fully circular fashion industry,” says Isko CEO, Fatih Konukoğlu. “Our investment in this new technology is another milestone towards our full circularity vision,”

The Green Machine employs an ultra-efficient hydrothermal treatment method that decomposes cotton into cellulose powders and enables the separation of polyester fibres from blended fabrics. The closed-loop process uses only water, heat and less than 5% biodegradable green chemicals.
Crucially, it does not damage the polyester fibres and therefore maintains their quality – the cellulose powders, which are clean and toxic-free, can be used in a variety of ways.
“The Green Machine is a ground-breaking recycling technology,” says Edwin Keh, HKRITA’s CEO. “Seeing this project become truly commercially viable is wonderful. We are excited to learn that Isko recognises our innovation and will apply this recycling solution to its production.”
The investment is the latest in Isko’s ongoing drive for advancements in sustainability. As part of the company’s R-Two programme, it is also working to develop fabrics with a guaranteed minimum 50% GRS (Global Recycle Standard) recycled content blend. This will significantly reduce the carbon and water footprint of a fabric, as well as make it easy for consumers to trace a garment’s sustainable journey from the beginning of the supply chain through to the end product they purchase.
www.iskodenim.com

 A recent signatory to Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Jeans Redesign program, Isko is taking a step to overcome one of the biggest challenges in post-consumer recycled denim fabrics. The company recently announced a licensing agreement for Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel’s (HKRITA) award-winning Green Machine, a one-of-a-kind technology that fully separates and recycles cotton and polyester blends at scale. The Green Machine uses an innovative and ultra-efficient hydrothermal treatment method that decomposes cotton into cellulose powders and enables the separation of polyester fibers from blended fabrics. One of the most important advantages of this method is that it does not damage the polyester fibers and therefore maintains their quality. Additionally, the closed-loop process uses only water, heat and less than 5 percent biodegradable green chemicals.
The Green Machine is the culmination of a four-year, 5.8-million-euro ($7 million) collaboration between HKRITA and H&M Foundation that began in 2016. Though the technology is still in the pilot phase, it is an additional step in Isko’s mission to improve and commercialize recycling technologies.
“Isko has a total commitment to sustainability and through our Responsible Innovation approach, we are constantly looking for new ways of working towards the future of a fully circular fashion industry. Our investment in this new technology is another milestone towards our full circularity vision,” said Fatih Konukoğlu, Isko CEO.
The investment is the latest in the mill’s ongoing drive for advancements in sustainability. As part of the company’s R-Two program, it is also working to develop fabrics with a guaranteed minimum 50 percent or higher GRS (Global Recycle Standard) recycled content blend. This will significantly reduce the carbon and water footprint of a fabric, as well as make it easy for consumers to trace a garment’s sustainable journey step-by-step from the beginning of the supply chain through to the product they purchase.
Isko aims to eventually offer a 100 percent post-consumer recycling solution to all customers.



“The Green Machine is a ground-breaking recycling technology,” said Edwin Keh, HKRITA CEO. “Seeing this project become truly commercially viable is wonderful. We are excited to learn that Isko [recognizes] our innovation and applies this recycling solution into its production. The Green Machine will definitely become another green credential of Isko.”
Isko’s partnership with HKRITA is the company’s latest string of strategic collaborations. The mill recently announced its participation in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab’s Alliances program, which allows it to research and develop smart textiles and wearable technologies with the help of the program’s researchers, students and industry partners. The company also signed a “landmark” technology licensing agreement that brings Isko and Soorty, a Pakistan-based denim manufacturer and competitor  together for the production of fabric and garment collections.





 The system comprises of five main parts: a Sanitisation Station, Materials Preparation Station, Colour Sorting Station, Smart Storage System, and a Fibra Processing System. With clean and spinnable fibres as the desired product, the used garments are cleaned at the beginning and towards the end of the process through Ozone and Ultra-Violet (UV) Sanitisation systems respectively. The Colour Sorting Station is assisted by a SCARA robot, and uses Advanced Vision Algorithms to sort garments into 10 colour categories. This process conveniently eliminates the need for dyeing and finishing of fibres by the end of the upcycling process, ultimately readying the colour-sorted fibres for spinning. Upon filling up a container of fabric of the same colour, a smart storage system will transport it to the storage area by Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV). This will accumulate a series of containers to enable a continuous downstream production. When a downstream order is received, the smart storage system is able to retrieve corresponding number of containers automatically and then transport them downstream for production. During the downstream process, fibre quality and properties are maintained through a series of special mechanical processes. A machine enclosure is installed around the dust-generating fibre processing steps to improve operational safety and contain the dust and sound. A dust collection mechanism with suction nozzles within the enclosure extracts the dust generated by the fibre processing operation. Industry benefit The upcycling system is now installed in a spinning mill in Tai Po. This is the first local spinning mill to have opened in half a century. The facility has three production lines, each capable of producing one ton a day of recycled fibres from post-consumer textiles. Technological breakthrough • High degree of automation is achieved by auto colour sorting robots (1 piece fabric per 2 seconds) and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV)• High level of hygiene is achieved by two stages of sanitisation and at least 90% microorganisms can be reduced according to the ISO 11737-1:2018 test method• Fibre properties can be maintained through the progressive fibre re-processing system

 Even though the majority of the clothes we wear are made of blend materials, in 2016 when we launched this program, there was no method available that could fully recycle these garments into new ones. However, to reach a fully circular fashion industry – recycling methods for blend textiles are key.  “The Green Machine is a technological milestone as well as an economical one. We are close to not only recycle blend textiles at scale but also making it affordable for all, killing the myth of sustainability being a costly compromise. We can’t settle for less if we’re serious about stopping climate change.”Erik Bang, Innovation Lead at H&M Foundation Therefore, our main focus for the Recycling Revolution program with HKRITA was to find at least one commercially viable method to recycle blend textiles at scale. Recycling with no quality loss Erik Bang, Innovation Lead at H&M Foundation, Edwin Keh, CEO at HKRITA, Professor Kanji Kajiwara, Shinshu University (team lead of the development of the Green Machine) and Dr. Gloria Lei Yao, Director Project Development at HKRITA. The work began in 2016 and only a year later Kanji Kanjiwara, professor at the Faculty of Textile Science and Technology at Shinshu University, and his team reached a milestone when they discovered a hydrothermal method that had the potential to change the game completely. We call it the Green Machine. The Green Machine: Uses only heat, water, pressure and a biodegradable green chemical.Is cost effective and time efficient.Generates no secondary pollution since it’s a closed loop where the water, heat and chemicals are used again and again. The output is long and good quality polyester fibres which can be used to make new garments. The cotton is extracted as cellulose powder, which can be used in multiple ways. In our new program with HKRITA called Planet First, we are trialing making new clothes out of this powder, as well as using it to improve cotton farming.  From pre-industrial to industrial scale within a year The Green Machine in Tai Po, Hong Kong. In September 2018, the first Green Machine opened in Tai Po, Hong Kong. It’s a pre-industrial sized facility, which purpose is to invite fashion brands and stakeholders worldwide to see, test and implement this technology within their own operations. “Nobody takes innovation seriously until you scale.”Edwin Keh, CEO of HKRITA Built at full scale in factory in Asia In 2019, another milestone was reached when a contract was signed with Kahatex, the largest textile manufacturer in Indonesia, who are forward-thinking and were willing to invest in this technology. The Green Machine will be ready to be put in use by early 2021. The first year we expect to adjust and improve the system, once up to speed – we expect it to handle about 1.5 tonnes of textiles per day. Built in a modular system, the Green Machine is flexible and can be easily put on most factory floors. In 2020, fashion brand Monki released the world’s first collection from the Green Machine. And we hope more collections will be launched and more Green Machines will be built. The Green Machine is licensed by HKRITA at price that only covers their costs, they will not make any profit on it. We do this since we believe this is the best way to reach maximum impact in the fashion industry.  Milestones 2016 – The collaboration with HKRITA started and we set the ambitious goal to find at least one commercially viable method to recycle blend textiles at scale.2017 – A breakthrough was made when the hydrothermal method was discovered by Japanese engineers at Shinshu University.2018 – A pre-industrial sized system opened in Tai Po, Hong Kong and brands and other stakeholders were invited to see, test and hopefully implement this technology within their own operations.2020 – The H&M Foundation and HKRITA signed a contract with Kahatex, a large supplier in Asia who will build a real-size Green Machine in its own facility. Monki releases the first collection made from the Green Machine technology, made at the smaller system in Hong Kong. A small scale pilot on cotton farming using the cellulose powder that is one of the outputs from the Green Machine is done, the results are promising and a larger pilot will be undertaken in 2021.2021 – The hydrothermal recycling facility will be ready to recycle a couple of tonnes of blended textiles per day – a major step towards recycling blend textiles at scale. 

 One of the biggest challenges facing today’s fashion industry is how to create fashion for a growing population, while at the same time improving its impact on the environment. According to Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 97% of all materials used to produce clothes come from virgin resources. Out of the 3% that are recycled materials, only 1% is recycled textile. At the same time, the number of times a garment is worn has dropped globally by 36% between 2002 and 2016. Some garments are estimated to be thrown away after just seven to ten wears. It’s a trend we need to stop to protect the exhaustion of our planet. Instead of producing more, the life of garments must be extended. However, once a garment has been worn-out, all textiles must ultimately be recycled. Garment recycling together with changed behaviour, technology, consumption and business models, makes up a required paradigm shift in the fashion industry. If this shift will not happen, our planet will not cope. From cleaning cloths to new garments In 2016, we joined forces with The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), to accelerate the research on textile recycling. The goal is to find at least one commercially viable recycling method for blend textiles. “In this project we have together over 500 years of engineering experience. We’re convinced we can solve some of the industry’s – and ultimately our planet’s – challenges.”Erik Bang, Innovation Lead H&M Foundation Blend textiles make up a majority of all garments made, just look at what you are wearing. However, today there is no method to recycle blend textiles at scale. Instead, if the garments do end up in a recycling process, the fibres are usually torn apart and used for downcycling, such as cleaning cloths and filling in car seats, since the quality loss makes it impossible to make new garments out of it. In a circular fashion world, downcycling and value loss is not an option. This is what our project aims to change. We call it the Recycling Revolution. Towards a circular fashion industry The Recycling Revolution, co-funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund of Hong Kong SAR Government, is one of the biggest and most comprehensive research efforts ever for textile recycling. Recycling of blend textiles at scale is an important step towards a circular fashion industry. As a non-profit foundation, we aim to drive change for the entire industry. In practice, this means that we are transparent with the steps forward (and backward) we’re taking along the way, and the technologies found will be licensed free for maximum impact. Our research focus Learn more about the three technologies we’re focusing on: The Green Machine: A hydrothermal process that can fully separate and recycle cotton and polyester blends into new fibres and cellulose powder, a full-scale machine is now being implemented at a factory in Asia.The Brewery: Explores a biological method to recycle blends, the goal is to use a low energy, low impact method to effectively recycle used materials.The Mini Mill: A miniaturized recycling machine, to make consumers understand the possibilities of garment recycling and nudge them to hand in their unwanted clothes for recycling instead of throwing it away. The collaboration in detail The Recycling Revolution is made of a portfolio of several sub projects and features, focusing on the full circle of what is needed to close the loop for fashion. The scope includes research on several methods for recycling, as well as sorting and de-colouring, as these are core challenges for a commercially viable textile recycling solution. Within recycling, the project explores different methods to separate and recycle fiber blends made from the three main types of textile material: syntheticscelluloseanimal fibres As textile today is available in an almost endless variety of blends and treatments, it’s likely that several complementing technologies will be needed to fully solve for recycling. HKRITA uses applied research, meaning using existing science and technology in new ways to address new challenges. This approach quickly generates insights and results. For example, the project investigated and tested over 25 different approaches to textile separation and recycling before focusing on the two most promising methods, presented above as The Green Machine and The Brewery. Ground-breaking results Recycling Revolution started in 2016 and will run for four years. However, only a year after the project started a breakthrough was made – the researchers found a way to recycle blend textiles in a hydrothermal process that could be done at scale with no quality loss. We are currently upscaling the system, called The Green Machine.    The total share of recycled textiles used in garment production.       Estimated value of what is lost every year due to clothing being barely worn and rarely recycled.       Ground-breaking method for recycling cotton and polyester blends is now being built at a factory to be used at a commercial scale for the first time.    

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<p>The Green Machine is a close loop recycling technology which can fully separates cotton and polyester blends at scale without damaging the polyester fibre quality and using an innovative and efficient hydrothermal method. It is the outcome of a four-year long collaboration between HKRITA and the H&amp;M Foundation and ISKO just signed a licensing agreement which will help to commercialise this technology.</p>

A collaboration between HKRITA and H&M Foundation leads to the 'Green Machine' recycling technology that is able to fully separate and recycle blends of cotton and polyester.