In a second global panel discussion hosted by The Lycra Company, 28 industry experts evaluated the pros and cons of mechanical recycling versus chemical recycling and what is needed to make garment recycling a commercially viable reality. The panelists agreed that chemical recycling is a more promising technology than mechanical recycling; yet many expressed an opinion that more innovation is needed to scale up capabilities and to ensure that all aspects of the process are truly sustainable.
Mechanical recycling can use materials from outside the textile industry, such as PET water bottles in the case of polyester, or fabrics from the industry that are made into new fibers after being shredded. These recycled fibers typically have lower tensile strength than new ones, which means they usually cannot be recycled at the end of their life unless blended with new materials.
Chemical recycling uses a series of chemical processes to separate and recycle blended fabrics. The resulting recycled fibers have the same strength and performance characteristics as virgin fibers and can be recycled multiple times. However, while the panel agreed on the promising advantages of chemical recycling, the experts also noted that it needs more energy and chemicals for the process.
Thiwanka De Fonseka, senior executive in charge of environmental sustainability at the textile manufacturer MAS Holdings, made three main points: The executive pointed out that the process is made more sustainable when disposing of the chemical waste that it generates. Secondly, recyclers must consider whether the chemicals used are aligned with sustainable chemical standards. And finally, they must account for the environmental footprint of the process compared with virgin fiber manufacturing.
As chemical recycling is still at a relatively early stage, participants in the panel acknowledged the need for infrastructures to support the tech’s expansion. “In an ideal world, there would be many industrial closed-loops producing garments and then eventually receiving them back for recycling. However, we live in a messy world, and the reality will require organizations to be set up just to gather materials for recycling,” said David Cottrell, managing director of business development for the Gradient Ltd. consultancy. “It’s no good setting up garment manufacture capable of using x percentage of recycled fibers if they can’t be sourced easily. We have to ‘feed the beast, and this requires investment to gather and sort waste streams.”
