Apparel recycling

2 Fashion and overconsumption The root cause of the waste probiem 

Over the past 15 years, the apparel industry has undergone a profound transformation as the fashion cycle has become shorter and shorter. What used to be a stable 3-month production cycle has collapsed into an extraordinary 2-week cycle that spans the 

Sustainable Apparel. http //dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-l-78242-339-3.00011-X Copyright 2015 Elsevier Lid. All rights reserved. 

Each year, the average US citizen throws away 70 pounds of clothing and textiles. According to the 2012 Federal Municipal Waste Study conducted by the ERA, 21.8million tons of textile products are discarded each year with only 3.5million tons of postconsumer textile waste (PCTW) recycled, but this comprises only 8.7% of the municipal solid waste generation. Thus, 84% of textile and apparel consumption is sent to US landfills (ERA, 2012). By 2019, the amount of PCTW generated waste is projected to increase by 40%, primarily due to increased consumption of fast-fashion apparel. 

Available markets for used apparel is dynamic. For example, animal fibers have always commanded higher prices and, more recently, bras and some categories of underwear are earning extra value in the marketplace. Clothing that is of collectible nature, shirts, and revived trends also bring higher value, but these items are fewer in volume and require more expertise in the sorting process. 

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Apparel recycling is a scene that is played out aU over the globe. Below are a few unique examples. 

This chapter begins with an overview of systems theory then a model that depicts the textiles recycling processes, particularly as it pertains to apparel. After that, a micro-macro model using social systems theory is presented. Finally, a synthesis of how systems theory provides a useful tool to project future trends for the textile and apparel recycling process is presented. It is important to note that this work is based primarily on the processes as they are in the United States. The research is based on over five years of qualitative data collection on, primarily, apparel and other fashion products consumed throughout the USA and the world. 

In experimenting with recycled PET, Feuerstein came up with a high-tech use for "inferior" polyester fiber. He invented a warm, synthetic fleece that he called Polar Fleece (later changed to PolartecJ.Then he struck a deal with the outfitting company Patagonia to market outdoor apparel made from his PET fleece (Fenichell 1996),... 

Open- and closed-loop recycling of textile and apparel products... 

Importantly, fibres are commonly blended together in order to give fabric more desirable qualities appropriate for apparel applications. For example, cotton and polyester blends have the breathability and wearability of cotton but will crease less and so require less pressing. A smaU percentage of petrochemical-based fibre elastane is often blended with other fibres for added stretch in both wovens and knits. This wide variety of fibres and fibre blends used in textiles for apparel makes effective recycling difficult due to the complexity of separating and sorting constituent fibres from textile blends. 

Recycling refers to the breakdown of a product into its raw materials in order for the raw material to be reclaimed and used in new products. In contrast, reuse refers to an existing product being used again within the same production chain. Textile recycling may involve reclaiming pre-consumer waste or post-consumer waste. There are a number of ways to identify the kinds of recycling possible within the textile and apparel context. 

In apparel production, primary recycling is the collection of pre-consumer offcuts of fabric from production. The nature of cut-and-sew manufacture of apparel means that there is significant textile waste resulting from the leftover fabric between individual pattern pieces. Rissanen (2008) estimates this as up to 15% of the yield required for each garment. 

After the raw material is recycled, it can be further classified according to the new product stream it enters. These two classifications are OLR and CLR. In OLR, a garment reaches the end of its useful life and the fibre is reclaimed for use in different products, therefore entering into a new product fife cycle (Curran, 2012). This may also be termed downcycling if the new product is of lesser economic value. Similarly, pre-consumer textile offcuts from apparel production may be collected and recycled into fibre for use in other products. 

Typically, OLR recycled items in textiles and apparel include... 

The recycling of the waste in examples 1 and 2 above can be viewed as OLR when the textile waste is used as material in other product systems. When examples 1 and 2 are recycled for use within the apparel industry, this is CLR addressed in greater detail in Section 6.4. 

Textiles can be mechanically or chemically broken down to the fibre for recycling. Additionally, other forms of post-consumer waste such as PET bottles may be recycled into fibre for apparel. For all forms of recycling, considerations include the blend of fibres or polymers, the length of these fibres, to what degree the textile or product can be broken down and the cleanliness or degree of impurities of the feedstock to be recycled (Gulich, 2006b). 

PET bottles to fibre is an OLR method in which PET bottles are recycled into PET flakes, re-spun into fibre and then woven or knitted into textiles. Unlike the method described above, where textile waste enters a second product life cycle, this OLR approach sees waste fi om other product cycles (i.e. bottles from the food and beverage industries) being utilised in textile and apparel production. 

Examples of apparel companies utilising open-loop recycled yarns... 

Many other retailers have utilised RPET in apparel, including Max Mara and H M. There has also been niche designer interest, with Italian label Armani creating a gown of 100% recycled bottles for celebrity Livia Firth in 2012. 

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