TNF testing recycling tech able to separate cotton-polyester blends
A consortium of international partners has joined hands to investigate the industrial scale feasibility of what is being called The Green Machine, a recycling technology with proven capability to separate cotton from polyester in blended fabrics, in Cambodia.
Led by German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), other named partners include the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), VF Corporation, H&M Foundation, joint Thai-Cambodian construction venture Chip Mong Insee and Hong Konger automation company Dakota Industrial.
The HKRITA-developed machine’s technological achievements were described by VF as world leading.
Essentially a hydrothermal treatment method which uses only heat, water and biodegradable chemicals (kept to less than 15% of the total recipe), the technology is able to selectively separate cotton from polyester, the group said, while still maintaining the quality of the polyester fibres. This is intended to enable fibre-to-fibre recycling, which will in turn generate a closed recycling loop as a result - effectively "eliminating" waste.
VF-owned brand The North Face (TNF) will test the machine this year, with the view to deciding whether to pursue use of the technology at scale in the south-east Asian country by year end.
As part of its Exploration Without Compromise commitment, published last spring, TNF has pledged that 100% of its most-used materials will be recycled, regenerative or renewable by 2025. All of its polyester will be made with recycled fibres by 2023.
