It’s no secret that the past few months have been really tough for the retail sector. Many businesses have found the economic and consumer landscape really challenging, and with the present uncertainty due to the COVID-19 virus, it is hard some days to find the good news in the retail space.
Here are some inspirational ideas which are already considered ‘mature’ and are moving now into industrial and pilot scale with funding, others are still at the pre-pilot innovation stage and may move to funding and finally some are still research in labs but show the ‘art of the possible’ for the future.
There are several historical challenges in the textile recycling space that these innovative businesses are trying to deal with and find solutions for. They include
Volume
The solutions have to be at scale to actually solve the problem;
Complexity
The solutions need to deal with both sortation and separation of blends;
Legislation
Countries are starting to ban or reduce traditional waste streams;
Customer attitudes
The consumers want simple solutions to complex problems.Here we have been introduced to some amazing technology companies bringing their ideas regarding textile recycling to life.
AltMat
They use a mixture of mechanical, chemical and enzymatic process to produce industrial fit fibre and yarn made of agri-waste such as hemp and banana waste sourced directly from farmers and hemp producers. This was called out by Spinnova.
Descatuk
They have developed a process of fibre extraction and yarn creation from grass to produce a fabric that has a similar look to linen but a lighter touch.
JSP Enviro
They treat common effluents with microbial fuel cells technology. The technology treats effluent water so it can be reused and simultaneously produces energy, making it a self-sustainable waste-water treatment system.
Each of these businesses, and there are hundreds more like them, represents positive and future-thinking innovation in the area of textile recycling.
