Implementation of circular economy processes to reduce textile waste in the manufacture of personal protective equipment

Introduction

Technical textiles are crucial to keep workers safe in high-risk industries such as foundries, petrochemical, electricity generation, and manipulation or welding. Those industries need high protective level garments that can prevent burns and injuries (thermal, electric, or chemical). The fabrics for those personal protective equipment (PPE) must meet stringent standards to effectively protect the workers.

Waste Generation in Textile Manufacturing

During the manufacture of the different PPE fabrics along the textile value chain, several material waste is generated. This waste is highly valuable as it is made of high-performance technical materials, which differs from commodities used in fashion.

While at the domestic level clothes have their own recycling programs (e.g., European Clothing Action Plan) and regulations (e.g., mandatory textiles separate collection by 2025), those are lacking in the technical textiles sector for industrial applications.

Project Overview

The consortium, led by MARINA TEXTIL (the European market leader in manufacturing technical fabrics for foundries, metallurgical, electricity, and petrochemical companies), will address the circular economy approach at its specific case in the technical fabrics for PPEs’ sector, where no similar solutions are yet available.

Project Ambition

This project's ambition is to uptake a circular economy approach to dramatically reduce technical textiles' waste generation and upcycle them into high-grade PPE fabrics. The consortium envisions a changing paradigm towards sustainability and commits to an environmentally friendly vision in high-end market segments.

Project Goals

The aim of the project is to achieve the recycling of:

1. 321 tons/year of textile waste from the value chain.
2. Using a minimum of 20% recycled material in a minimum of 80% of MARINA TEXTIL's PPE production.

These values will be achieved using a waste collection (pre and post-consumer) and recycling methodology that will lead to an industrial demonstration with an achieved capacity of 63 tons.