Origin of Materials

• Conventionally sourced cellulose from forest industry
• Circular and sustainable solutions include:
  • Use of agricultural side streams
  • Example: straw as a cellulose feedstock

Origin of Raw Materials

• Conventionally obtained from petrochemical industry
• Circular solutions may include:
  • Pyrolysis products
  • Gasification products
  • Use as polymerisation feedstocks
  • Open-loop recycling approaches

Main Methods

• Melt-spinning for thermoplastic polymers:
  • PES
  • PA
  • PP
  • PE
• Dry-spinning using evaporating solvents:
  • PAN
  • EL
• Wet-spinning and dry-jet wet-spinning for polymers regenerated in spinning baths:
  • MMF
  • PAN

Secondary Raw Materials Used

• r-PET from PET bottles
• Production waste from textile production of synthetic materials in melt-spinning
• Dissolved cotton and other cellulose sources

Waste Produced

• Solid waste such as:
  • Non-uniform filaments
  • Filament breakage waste
  • Spinneret-clogged waste
  • Degraded polymer waste
  • Filter pack waste

Waste Prevention Measures

• Suitable material selection
• Elimination of hazardous additives
• Use of compatible polymers
• Process optimisation
• Improved quenching uniformity
• Improved real-time monitoring activities

Origin of Materials

• Cultivation of plant fibres
• Animal production:
  • Wool
  • Other hairs
• Sustainable options include:
  • Organic production methods
  • Other certified production methods
  • Ethical treatment of animals

Main Methods

• Blending of fibres and making pre-yarn
• Ring spinning (typically finer yarns)
• OE spinning (more feasible for mechanically recycled yarn)
• Air-jet spinning (for pilling resistance)
• Friction spinning (DREF 2000) for coarser / bulky yarns

Secondary Raw Materials Used

• Post-industrial waste from spinning, weaving and knitting
• Thermo-mechanically and chemically recycled materials
• Fibre mechanically recycled materials typically blended with virgin and/or recycled fibres to restore fibre quality

Waste Produced

• Waste in each yarn-spinning stage
• Comber noil
• Broken yarns
• Fly fibres

Waste Prevention Measures

• Return the longest fibre fractions to processing of lower-quality yarns and/or nonwoven applications

Main Methods

• Knitting
• Weaving
• Dyeing and finishing

Secondary Raw Materials Used

• Yarns containing recycled fibres

Waste Produced

• Yarn waste
• Waste in fabric formation (selvedges and trimmings)
• Low-grade fabrics
• Waste from coloration and finishing:
  • Wastewater
  • Chemical sludge
  • Rejected textiles due to colour or appearance mismatch

Waste Prevention Measures

• Process control and optimisation
• Recycling of post-industrial waste

Main Methods

• Web formation via:
  • Dry methods
  • Wet methods
  • Direct methods
• Bonding via:
  • Mechanical methods
  • Chemical methods
  • Thermal methods
• Finishing

Secondary Raw Materials

• Mechanically recycled fibres from fibre recycling
• Mechanically recycled fibres for carding and air-laying materials
• Chemically and thermo-mechanically recycled fibres for wet and dry laying
• Recycled polymers for direct laying

Waste Produced

• Fibre waste
• Filament waste
• Polymer and resin waste
• Off-spec fabrics and products
• Edge trim and slitting waste
• Start-up and shutdown waste
• Process residues:
  • Dust
  • Fines
  • Microfibres
• Chemical and additive waste
• Wastewater and effluent

Waste Prevention Measures

• Raw material and input optimisation
• Process optimisation and yield improvement
• Lean manufacturing practices
• Internal reuse and closed-loop production

Production Methods

• Wide range of production methods
• Some similar to textile production methods
• Others highly specialised

Secondary Raw Materials

• Recycled fibres
• Recycled fabrics and nonwovens
• Recycled resins

Waste Produced

• Similar waste streams to nonwoven production
• Composite and multilayer scrap
• Coated and laminated material waste

Waste Prevention Measures

• Similar measures to those used in nonwoven production
• Greater focus on product design due to complexity of technical textile products

Main Process Steps

• Design & pattern making
• Cutting
• Assembly

Secondary Raw Materials Used

• Yarns and fabrics containing recycled fibres
• Other secondary and reusable materials
• Remanufacturing from textile products

Waste Produced

• Cutting scraps
• Selvedge waste
• End bits or lay-end waste
• Pattern mismatch (e.g. printing or striped line mismatching)
• Sewing thread trimming waste
• Bobbin leftovers / broken threads
• Lint / fibre loss during the washing process
• Rejected garments (not considered waste in all cases)

Waste Prevention Measures

• Design and optimise cutting patterns to prevent cutting waste
• Seamless clothing concepts