Accelerating Circularity Launches Textile Recycling Initiative

Accelerating Circularity (ACP) is taking its textile-to-textile recycling efforts to the next phase.

The circular supply chain nonprofit’s Building Circular Systems (BCS) initiative—which aims to expand the development of circular textile-to-textile systems to mitigate the industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as reduce the volume of textiles destined for landfill or incineration—has been released.

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Previous textile-to-textile trials demonstrated the “successful replacement” of virgin fibers in yarns and fabrics that targeted a minimum of 40 percent recycled cotton or recycled polyester, with each new material running at standard industry minimum order quantities.

Building on the findings from those earlier efforts, the BCS initiative aims to “significantly increase” material volumes, develop new tools and grow circular system education based on those previous trials. This next phase, the New York-based organization said, will include more collaborations with more partners and a broader geographic scope.

“This milestone marks a major step forward in ACP’s efforts to build commercial circular textile-to-textile systems, provide industry tools and deliver on education and knowledge, allowing companies to transfer learnings to their sourcing strategies,” said Karla Magruder, founder and president of Accelerating Circularity. “We are driving positive change in the supply chain through collaboration and leading the way toward our vision of a world where textiles are no longer wasted.”

Through BCS, participants can witness firsthand the trials and tribulations of circular systems, collaboratively building the tools necessary to commercialize textile-to-textile processes at an industry scale and connect with peers on regulations and transition pathways.

“Ultimately,” ACP said, “this work will enable companies to better meet their own goals of incorporating recycled materials and GHG reduction targets.”

The initiative has three main workstreams: building markets through expanded trials in both the states and the EU, creating the textile hierarchy tool that outlines pathways for used textiles to maximize resource savings, and educating and providing access to information and available tools on circular textile-to-textile systems.