Birla Cellulose Dissects the Challenges of Recycled Textile Sourcing
Recycled textiles might have their challenges, but they are well worth the effort.
Conventional production of new textiles stands as a notable contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, marked by its energy-intensive processes. In stark contrast, recycling textiles presents an eco-friendlier alternative, characterized by lower energy consumption and diminished emissions when compared to the manufacturing of textiles from virgin materials.
More from Sourcing Journal
Reality Check: Supply and Demand Challenge Swedish Recycler Renewcell
Germany's Eeden Tackles Chemical Recycling for Cotton-PET Fiber Blends
Moreover, the act of recycling textiles serves as a vital diversion from the incineration and landfill process, mitigating the release of harmful pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This helps combat climate change and elevates air quality standards, showcasing the multifaceted benefits of embracing recycled textiles in our quest for a greener, more sustainable planet.
Here, Shyamlal Patnaik, joint president and global business head for specialty business, Birla Cellulose, outlines the biggest challenges and explains how innovation and collaboration process can help contribute to a sustainable path forward.
CHALLENGES
Sorting & Processing: Textile recycling transcends mere collection and transformation of old garments into new items; it constitutes a labor-intensive process which involves physical collection of garments from diverse sources—donation bins, thrift stores and household curbside pickups, followed by a meticulous sorting process. While some operators employ automation for sorting, the manual approach remains predominantly labor-intensive, relying on skilled workers for efficient execution.
Following sorting, the processing phase ensues, where pre-sorted textiles are either shredded or broken down into fibers. Mechanical processes typically handle natural fibers like cotton, while synthetic fibers may necessitate energy-intensive chemical processes. The processing stages can be substantial consumers of energy, utilizing significant amounts of water, heat and chemicals, consequently escalating operational costs.
According to prevailing global standards, activities such as textile waste aggregation, segregation, sorting and cleaning collectively account for approximately 10 to 12 percent, while the subsequent phases of recycled material processing and re-purposing contribute to around 16 to 20 percent of the overall costs. At Birla, however, we have developed a process to streamline textile waste collection and its sorting for utilizing the feedstock for reuse as alternate feedstock for our recycled fibers.
Traceability: Discerning the origin of raw materials is paramount for brands that provide consumers with comprehensive information about recycled materials, empowering them to make informed fashion choices. Furthermore, technology-enabled platforms offer an additional avenue for fashion brands to enhance transparency throughout the entire textile value chain. This technology facilitates mapping the material journey from its origin in the forest to its ultimate manifestation in the world of fashion.
By leveraging such advanced tools and technologies, fashion brands can establish a robust framework for transparency, reinforcing their commitment to sustainable practices and providing consumers with a deeper understanding of the intricate journey undertaken by recycled materials in the fashion ecosystem. At Birla, we have developed our in-house traceability platform which can map all our sustainable fibers, including recycled fibers.
Consistency: Consistency ensures that a company’s distinctive brand remains easily identifiable across all marketing channels and touchpoints, thereby unifying the image and message intended for both current and potential customers.
Global recyclers and fashion brands face hurdles in achieving consistent quality with recycled materials, given the diverse sources of raw materials, whether pre- or post-consumer waste. Despite this, dedicated efforts are underway to establish uniformity and consistency in recycled material quality. The strategy involves the continuous sourcing of pre- and post-consumer waste (PCW) from specific brands for recycling, creating a closed-loop value chain. This initiative not only guarantees consistency and uniformity in product offerings but also plays a pivotal role in maintaining brand image on a global scale.
Quality Control: A primary constraint affecting recycled products stems from the utilization of inferior or low-quality yarns in fabric production. This can be attributed to the technological challenges faced by many recyclers when processing diverse types of pre- and post-consumer waste.
Nevertheless, technological advancements promise a transformative impact on the quality of yarns derived from recycled materials. This progression anticipates an enhanced quality of yarn, subsequently facilitating the production of fabrics that match or exceed the quality and standards of new or virgin products. This ongoing evolution in technology holds the potential to elevate the stature of recycled materials, addressing the historical limitations and ushering in a new era of high-quality, sustainable fabric production.
Regulation: Particularly for the U.S. and EU markets, where distinct sets of guidelines are already established, companies must meticulously adhere to regulations and country-specific guidelines to ensure quality specifications. It is imperative for these businesses to furnish the requisite quality documents before introducing their products to specific countries or regions, demonstrating a commitment to regulatory adherence and upholding the highest standards in their offerings.
Contamination: In adherence to global standards, particularly for the U.S. and EU regions, a stringent list of contaminants and restricted substances is strictly prohibited in textile recycling. It is imperative to subject every batch of pre- or post-consumer waste to thorough analysis—with testing conducted by authorized laboratories—to assess the presence of restricted substances and contaminants, then provide a quality certificate, ensuring transparency and compliance with the established guidelines.
Sampling and testing frequency are contingent upon the specific testing requirements stipulated by the exporting country or brand, further underscoring the commitment to upholding rigorous quality control measures in the textile recycling process.
Cost: Presently, recycled textiles and products command a premium compared to virgin products by approximately 15 percent, owing to fragmented sourcing of textile wastes, sorting and segregation process and adopting sustainability manufacturing process. However, endeavors are underway to enhance market adaptability of all categories and achieve price neutrality against virgin fibers.
Partnering in the Liva Journey
LIVA Accredited Partners Forum (LAPF) and LAPF Studio was formed when Birla Cellulose’s fibers including recycled fiber Liva Reviva was introduced as a brand to help in uniting the value chain to create awareness of how to use different types of man-made cellulosic fiber by Birla and educate the industry to adopt cellulosic fiber faster in India. LAPF Studio has become a confluence of ideas across value chain partners to innovate and provide sustainable solutions.
LAPF Studio is a platform where our value chain partners (weavers/knitters/processing house) showcase man-made cellulosic base fabrics of all possible blends, finish and design to potential customers including brands. This enables a dialog between the textile value chain stakeholders and potential customers on various aspects ranging from design, fabric types, processing and sustainability.
To tackle the environmental problems facing the textile/fashion industry, LAPF Studio over time has helped educate the textile value chain on the importance of sustainability and how to use and adopt sustainable fiber in new products. Stakeholders across the textile value chain are using LAPF Studio to gain knowledge and understanding for themselves and for their respective organization on sustainability and circular fiber which is helping to increase the volume and adoption.
To learn more, visit their website.