Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CISUTAC (Circular & Sustainable Textiles & Clothing)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-09-01 bis 2024-02-29
The project CISUTAC (Circular and Sustainable Textiles and Clothing) aims at increasing circularity and sustainability in textiles and clothing in Europe. The production and consumption of textile products continue to grow, together with their impact on the environment, due to a lack of reuse, repair and recycling of materials. Quality, durability, and recyclability are often not being set as priorities in the design and manufacturing of clothing (EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, March 2022). The objective of CISUTAC is to minimise the sector’s total environmental impact by developing sustainable, novel, and inclusive large-scale European value chains. CISUTAC covers a relevant part of the textile sector and shows how to close loops at product and at material level. This will be done by:
- Working on 2 material groups representing almost 90% of all textile fibre materials: polyester and cotton
- Focusing on products from 3 sub-sectors experiencing varying circularity bottlenecks: fashion, workwear & PPE, active goods.
CISUTAC will follow a holistic approach covering the technical, sectoral and socio-economic aspects, and will perform 3 pilots to demonstrate the feasibility and value of:
- Repair and disassembly
- Sorting (for reuse and recycling)
- Circular garments through fibre-to-fibre recycling and design for circularity
CISUTAC also raises awareness among EU citizens about the environmental impact of buying new clothes and the benefits of reusing, donating and shopping second hand textiles.
- Working on 2 material groups representing almost 90% of all textile fibre materials: polyester and cotton
- Focusing on products from 3 sub-sectors experiencing varying circularity bottlenecks: fashion, workwear & PPE, active goods.
CISUTAC will follow a holistic approach covering the technical, sectoral and socio-economic aspects, and will perform 3 pilots to demonstrate the feasibility and value of:
- Repair and disassembly
- Sorting (for reuse and recycling)
- Circular garments through fibre-to-fibre recycling and design for circularity
CISUTAC also raises awareness among EU citizens about the environmental impact of buying new clothes and the benefits of reusing, donating and shopping second hand textiles.
In this reporting period, main focus has been given to the development of semi-automated workstations for repair and disassembly, the AI activities to support the sorting towards reuse and recycling and the first steps towards improved polyester and cotton fibre-to-fibre recycling. Further, scenario building for circular value chains, based on the analysis of material flows was done. The scenarios have been assessed in close cooperation with WP6 – Sustainability assessment to also understand the environmental and social impacts. Also, first co-creation sessions with consumers were held and business models for increased reuse/recycling are in the making.
Main results beyond the state of the art in the first reporting period are:
- Cutting-edge semi-automated workstation for disassembly, for example to recover pure aramid textiles from workwear. The workstation consists of two components: the cutting unit and the application removal unit. Looking forward, these components can be used separately or together, depending on the specific needs.
- Modular and semi-automated zipper repair workstation with digital interface. The station includes several modules that enable operators to perform various tasks, such as garment inspection, spare part selection and repair intervention.
- Comprehensive overview of the current status of textile collection and European sorting & recycling capacity, as well material flow analysis focusing on material composition.
- Roadmap for circular transition evaluating future scenarios for textile management.
- Tool for implementing a ‘Decision tree’ for textile sorting for reuse and (cascaded) recycling.
- Cutting-edge semi-automated workstation for disassembly, for example to recover pure aramid textiles from workwear. The workstation consists of two components: the cutting unit and the application removal unit. Looking forward, these components can be used separately or together, depending on the specific needs.
- Modular and semi-automated zipper repair workstation with digital interface. The station includes several modules that enable operators to perform various tasks, such as garment inspection, spare part selection and repair intervention.
- Comprehensive overview of the current status of textile collection and European sorting & recycling capacity, as well material flow analysis focusing on material composition.
- Roadmap for circular transition evaluating future scenarios for textile management.
- Tool for implementing a ‘Decision tree’ for textile sorting for reuse and (cascaded) recycling.