Sustainable Fashion and Textile Recycling

The clothing and textile industry is a resource-intensive industry, and accounts for 3 to 10 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the industry is extremely linear and generates vast amounts of waste.

For the industry to move from a linear to a circular economy, several solutions are required along the value chain upstream by working with resource efficiency and preventing waste, and downstream with techniques for sorting and recycling. In addition, solutions for traceability and transparency need to be developed, for example, through new standards, and coordinated and accepted methodology for sustainability measurements.

By fundamentally changing the textile system, we can release the pressure that the textile industry has on our planet in accordance with the needs of the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Simultaneously, the change can also contribute to new business ecosystems and business opportunities.

This Special Issue (SI), “Sustainable Fashion and Textile Recycling”, intends to bring together areas of knowledge along the textile value chain to highlight both the difficulties and opportunities that exist both from a larger perspective and in specific detail issues.

The SI aims to highlight research and new insights in all parts of the value chain, such as design for circularity, sustainable textile production, sustainable user behavior, business models to prolong the life of garments, traceability, textile sorting and recycling technologies.

In this Special Issue, the papers are mainly devoted to new research in traceability, design, textile production and recycling.

Felice Diekel et al. (contribution number 5) emphasized an overall important issue regarding traceability and transparency in combination with clarity, which will be an important issue in the future to create trust in the textile transition. The aim of the paper was to assess the selected labels regarding their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their coverage of relevant environmental aspects over the textile life cycle. They applied a characterization scheme to analyze seven selected labels and compared their focus to the environmental hotpots. They found significant differences among the eco-labels, and none of them covered all relevant aspects and impacts during the life cycle. This, in turn, places high demands on consumers who must be aware of these limitations when making purchase decisions.

The paper from Miriam Ribul et al. (contribution number 4) described the development and application of a material-driven textile design methodology (MDTD). The methodology provided a compelling argument for designers to be active in the materials science laboratory to establish new circular materials-driven manufacturing and finishing processes. Having created and applied the method in connection with the investigation of regenerated cellulose and its changing properties over a longer period, the research led to a transformation of the practice of interdisciplinary design and materials science collaboration into one that integrates discipline-specific methods.

Using Korea’s aesthetic point of view as well as nature’s forms, textures and materials, Seonju Kam (submission number 8) described a parametric design methodology that can reflect knowledge-based data in the process of producing 3D-printed sustainable fashion products. It was determined in the paper that the process could extend the life of products, and that it is possible to modify durable fashion products according to personal taste by adjusting numerical values and to extract visual images based on knowledge of art and culture.

The contribution by Hannah Auerbach George et al. (submission number 1) highlighted the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between sectors, with a particular focus on the valuable information available within historical archives to meet modern sustainability goals. From that perspective, they used Ardil fiber as a case study, showing that there is a possibility that historical research can at present be helpful. Ardil was a British-made product from peanuts and used as a source of protein. Technologies used in the processing of Ardil could be used by countries and climates that currently produce large amounts of peanut by-products and waste.

Ajinkya Powar et al. (submission number 3) used partial “gate to gate” life cycle assessment (LCA) to study an ozone-based decolorization process of reactively dyed cotton textiles. Experiments were conducted to determine the input and output flow rates for the decolorization treatment of reactively dyed cotton textiles using the ozonation process. Via the method, the environmental profile and the hotspots associated with it could be discerned. The study paves the way for using ozone-based processes for textile processing on an industrial scale. It also encourages thinking and developing technologies with a lower ecological impact.

Most of the papers submitted to this Special Issue are concerned with different types of recycling aspects.

Joséphine Riemens et al. (contribution number 7) highlighted the importance of understanding the challenges that exist to improve textile recycling. To better understand the barriers experienced, a Delphi study was conducted supplemented with Regnier’s Abacus technique. In an iterative, anonymous and controlled feedback process, they discussed these barriers, gathered from the existing literature, with a representative panel of 28 experts. The lack of ecodesign practices, incentive policies and available and accurate information about product components emerged as the most consistent challenges.

Paulien Harmsen et al. (submission number 6) embraced the important overarching issue related to accurate information on product components, namely that of textile fiber classification. Recycled raw materials will form a significant part of our future resources. Textile recycling (especially for post-consumer waste) is still underdeveloped and will be a major challenge in the coming years. Three problems that inhibit a better understanding of the development of textile recycling are: the current classification of textile fibers does not take recycling into account; there is no standard definition of textile recycling techniques; and there is a lack of clear communication about technological progress and the benefits of textile recycling. The paper presented a new fiber classification based on chemical groups and bonds that makes it possible to unravel the logic and preferred recycling routes of different fibers.

Katarina Lindström et al. (submission number 2) reported on a new method to preserve the length of mechanically processed and recycled fibers, thereby better maintaining their original properties. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a pre-treatment with a lubricant could reduce fiber length reduction from tearing, which in turn could facilitate recycled yarns with a higher proportion of recycled fibers. The study showed that treating fabric with PEG enables rotor spinning of 100% recycled fibers. The inter-fiber cohesion test method suggested appropriate lubricant loadings, which were found to mitigate tear hardness and facilitate fabric disintegration during recycling.

Another article by Hafeezullah Memon et al. (contribution number 11) also evaluates the properties of the blended yarns produced from mechanically recycled textile and virgin cotton for proportion optimization, and to verify if they can be used for denim fabric production. In the work, they analyzed the results using Design-Expert software, and with the help of a central composite design optimized the proportion between virgin and recycled raw material.

Finally, two articles are presented in series by Anna Peterson et al. (submission number 10) and Jenny Bengtsson et al. (contribution number 9). The articles looked at the possibility of separating viscose from polyester from a process perspective and reaction kinetics perspective, respectively. The first paper used an iterative process between small-scale experimental work and techno-economic and life-cycle analysis, which is considered beneficial for developing recycling processes that are economically and ecologically feasible and viable. The article also highlighted the importance of industrial symbioses to reduce costs. The second article explored the separation chemistry itself as well as how the different pretreatments and handling of the textiles can affect the separation.

All the valuable and interesting articles included in this Special Issue contribute to the knowledge that is necessary for a transformation of the textile and fashion industry to take place. Many studies, solutions and ideas need to be conducted to create the innovations that will become the reality of our future. Additionally, we need to learn from each other and take advantage of all the fantastic knowledge that is generated globally every day to create a better future for the generations to come.

List of Contributions

• Referencing Historical Practices and Emergent Technologies in the Future Development of Sustainable Textiles: A Case Study Exploring “Ardil”, a UK-Based Regenerated Protein Fibre. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148414
• Improving Mechanical Textile Recycling by Lubricant Pre-Treatment to Mitigate Length Loss of Fibers. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208706
• Environmental Profile Study of Ozone Decolorization of Reactive Dyed Cotton Textiles by Utilizing Life Cycle Assessment. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031225
• Material-Driven Textile Design (MDTD): A Methodology for Designing Circular Material-Driven Fabrication and Finishing Processes in the Materials Science Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031268
• Life Cycle Based Comparison of Textile Ecolabels. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041751
• Textiles for Circular Fashion: The Logic behind Recycling Options. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179714
• A Delphi-Régnier Study Addressing the Challenges of Textile Recycling in Europe for the Fashion and Apparel Industry. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111700
• Three-Dimensional Printing Fashion Product Design with Emotional Durability Based on Korean Aesthetics. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010240
• Chemical Recycling of a Textile Blend from Polyester and Viscose, Part II: Mechanism and Reactivity during Alkaline Hydrolysis of Textile Polyester. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116911
• Chemical Recycling of a Textile Blend from Polyester and Viscose, Part I: Process Description, Characterization, and Utilization of the Recycled Cellulose. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127272
• Investigation of the Physical Properties of Yarn Produced from Textile Waste by Optimizing Their Proportions. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159453