HKRITA invites companies to join ‘scalable’ textile recycling project
The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with technology provider Jeanologia and textiles recycler Looptworks to accelerate the large-scale recycling of blended textiles through its new Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem.
At the centre of the system is HKRITA’s Green Machine 4.0, the newest iteration of its pioneering hydrothermal recycling technology, which recovers polyester at 98% or higher purity from cotton-polyester textiles.
Jeanologia will build the machinery while Looptworks will transform pre- and post-consumer textiles into GRS-certified fibres.
Mr Enrique Silla, CEO and Founder of Jeanologia, said, “For the last 25 years, we have transformed the denim industry through technology, innovation and collaboration. Today, we are bringing that same experience to one of the industry's greatest challenges: textile-to-textile recycling. We believe recycling must become part of the industry's pre-competitive space, where companies work together to create solutions that no single organisation can achieve alone.”
Looptworks CEO Scott Hamlin added that blended materials have long been a major barrier to circularity, and this technology will enable them to realise their value at scale. “By reintroducing recovered fibres into the supply chain, we are proving that circular solutions are both environmentally practical and economically viable.”
HKRITA invites textile recyclers, brands and manufacturing partners to explore opportunities for collaboration.
