Project partners double recycled content in ring-spun yarn
Textile machinery developer Rieter, producer of recycled cotton fibre and blends Recover and spinning, weaving, knitting and textile finishing specialist Polopiqué have joined forces to produce yarns with a high percentage of mechanically recycled fibres.
The three companies said they had begun to work together on this project “in response to a major challenge facing the textile industry”: demand for high-quality and fine ring-spun cotton yarns with a higher proportion of recycled fibres.
Unveiled during ITMA 2023 in Milan, the new partnership aims to meet this demand and open up new possibilities for yarn production using Recover’s expertise in using recycling technology, Rieter’s in spinning systems and machines, and Polopiqué’s in textile manufacturing.
At ITMA they displayed a prototype garment made from a yarn containing 40% recycled post-industrial fabric waste. Typically, they said, recycled ring yarn uses only 20% recycled fibre content.
The ring spinning process used for this project incorporates a comber and a compacting device, the COMPACTdrum, from Rieter. Recover recycled cotton fibres were blended with virgin cotton in a ration of 50-50. When combing the blend, undesired very short fibres and neps were removed, resulting in an enhancement in yarn quality and an improved performance of the ring spinning machine.
Furthermore, the fibres removed by the comber are perfectly suited for processing in rotor spinning machines, which Rieter also supplies.
The three companies said they will continue to collaborate and explore new opportunities, reinforcing their commitment to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices in the industry.
Rieter’s head of marketing for machines and systems, Franziska Häfeli, said that, together, the three partners would “make recycling mainstream”. For his part, the chief executive of Recover, Alfredo Ferre, said the partners were “spearheading a new era of sustainability in the textile industry”. He explained that, by increasing the percentage of the recycled content in yarns and garments, the initiative would also make “a lasting positive impact on the environment”.
Polopiqué director Eduardo Guimarães said he was excited by “the impact that this will have on our industry”.
Image: Ana Palacios.
