Manufacturing nonwovens and other products

Manufacturing nonwovens and other products using recycled fibers containing spandex 

Textile manufacturers in south-eastern Massachusetts are expanding production with new product lines. Expansion has generated problems related to disposal of textile material in limited landfill space. This material, worth 15 to 25 per square yard when new, is now being dumped and its value lost. 

Remnants of cloth from apparel manufacturing, in particular, are a disposal and cost problem. This is true especially for those that use mixed fiber blends, including those containing spandex fibers. Currently there is no effort to recycle the mixed fiber fabric remnants and use the reclaimed individual fibers. 

A local company, Griffin Manufacturing, produces a line of jog bras. These items are made from mixed fiber fabric that includes between 10 and 15% Lycra spandex blended with cotton and polyester. The complexity of the product contributes to the production of a large volume of landfilled remnants. The company landfilled an estimate of at least six tons of this specific material per month in addition to other fabric types. That volume had doubled in the last few years and was expected to grow. 

In the early 1960s when spandex production started in earnest there were four manufacturers E.I. DuPont deNemours (Lycra spandex), Monsanto, Globe Manufacturing (Glospan Cleerspan spandex), and American Cyanamid. At that time DuPont controlled approximately 80% of the market. Since then, Monsanto and Cyanamid have ceased manufacturing and DuPont expanded international production, but eventually sold its fiber business to Invista. Additional competitors have appeared on both the national and international scene. In the USA Lycra spandex is the best known of the competitors. 

---

Langley, K.D., Kim, Y.K., 2006. Manufacturing nonwovens and other products using recycled fibers containing spandex. In Wang, Y. (Ed.), Recychng in Textiles. Woodhead, London, pp. 137-164. 

---