Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Resortecs (Solving the challenge of multi-material garment recycling with thermal disassembly)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-11-01 bis 2023-09-30
Recycling clothes is complicated. Making fabrics new again is not the only challenge – threads, zippers, and buttons that hold them together also need dealing with. Resortecs has developed an automatic disassembly solution that makes disassembly easy, so that more clothes can be recycled at higher quality and in less time. Typically, a garment sent for recycling needs to be manually taken apart, so that its recyclable fabric can be isolated. It is a technical and economic bottleneck that withholds the industry from becoming circular. Resortecs addresses this challenge with two eco-design innovations:
1) Smart Stitch™, heat-dissolvable threads melting at high temperatures (150-200°C), enabling the separation of the fabric from labels, zippers, and buttons as well as separation of different fabric types (i.e. cotton and polyester).
2) Smart Disassembly™, industrial-scale machines in which large amounts of garments can be automatically disassembled thanks to a combination of thermal and mechanical load and sorted prior to recycling.
The main objective of this project is to continue the development of Resortecs' technology to offer automatic disassembly solutions to the majority of textile products available in the market. To achieve this ambitious objective, the project was divided into 7 work packages (WPs), of which 3 have been progressively rolled out since November 2021:
1) Development and validation of threads, rivets and other assembly techniques: focused on new assembly products with lower disassembly temperature, higher performances and/or lower costs and the optimisation and validation of existing Resortecs assembly products in industrial garment production by means of sampling pilots.
2) Development of the Resortecs garment disassembly and component sorting line: focused on the design of the Smart Disassembly™ continuous system and the selection and combination of the most optimal sorting technologies on the market to process disassembled components of garments.
3) Large-scale industrial pilots to validate the complete Resortecs solution.
covering the final tests to validate the complete Resortecs solution prior to commercialization in collaboration with brands, garment manufacturers, and/or recyclers. These pilots will help validate the operational, environmental, and economic viability for all stakeholders.
1) Smart Stitch™, heat-dissolvable threads melting at high temperatures (150-200°C), enabling the separation of the fabric from labels, zippers, and buttons as well as separation of different fabric types (i.e. cotton and polyester).
2) Smart Disassembly™, industrial-scale machines in which large amounts of garments can be automatically disassembled thanks to a combination of thermal and mechanical load and sorted prior to recycling.
The main objective of this project is to continue the development of Resortecs' technology to offer automatic disassembly solutions to the majority of textile products available in the market. To achieve this ambitious objective, the project was divided into 7 work packages (WPs), of which 3 have been progressively rolled out since November 2021:
1) Development and validation of threads, rivets and other assembly techniques: focused on new assembly products with lower disassembly temperature, higher performances and/or lower costs and the optimisation and validation of existing Resortecs assembly products in industrial garment production by means of sampling pilots.
2) Development of the Resortecs garment disassembly and component sorting line: focused on the design of the Smart Disassembly™ continuous system and the selection and combination of the most optimal sorting technologies on the market to process disassembled components of garments.
3) Large-scale industrial pilots to validate the complete Resortecs solution.
covering the final tests to validate the complete Resortecs solution prior to commercialization in collaboration with brands, garment manufacturers, and/or recyclers. These pilots will help validate the operational, environmental, and economic viability for all stakeholders.
Two new products have been developed and validated in the course of the project: Smart Stitch™ Textured and Smart Stitch™ 150°C. These new threads are crucial to expanding the application scope of Resortecs' technology:
1) Smart Stitch™ 190°C Textured is a type of thread that offers a smooth touch and is suitable for seams in contact with the skin or serged seams used with elastic fabrics. This type of thread is widely used in e.g. underwear and swimwear.
2) A new Smart Stitch™ 150°C was developed using a different raw material, polyester in this case. This new thread is intended for disassembling products that don't need to withstand heat during the usage phase. This includes items like mattresses and accessories. The product was successfully validated at an industrial scale during the production of mattress covers in collaboration with a world-leading mattress and bedding supplier, opening up a new field of application in home textiles.
1) Smart Stitch™ 190°C Textured is a type of thread that offers a smooth touch and is suitable for seams in contact with the skin or serged seams used with elastic fabrics. This type of thread is widely used in e.g. underwear and swimwear.
2) A new Smart Stitch™ 150°C was developed using a different raw material, polyester in this case. This new thread is intended for disassembling products that don't need to withstand heat during the usage phase. This includes items like mattresses and accessories. The product was successfully validated at an industrial scale during the production of mattress covers in collaboration with a world-leading mattress and bedding supplier, opening up a new field of application in home textiles.
To achieve circularity in the European textile industry, investments should be directed toward adopting eco-design technologies such as Resortecs' Smart Stitch™ and Smart Disassembly™ at scale. This would validate the positive environmental impact of textile circularity and ensure viable financial performance for industry players, thereby enhancing competitiveness and overcoming organizational resistance against circular and environmental policies within the textile sector.
Resortecs recently published an economic report that compares the financial impact of choosing Resortecs' active disassembly technology versus manual and mechanical disassembly for four different types of textile products: cotton trousers, outdoor jackets, aramid-based protective workwear, and mattress covers. The analysis examined the costs and the added value brought by each method, considering the volumes of textile feedstock generated for recycling and the equivalent CO2 offsetting costs avoided.
The comparative economic analysis demonstrates that manual and mechanical disassembly lead to additional costs that increase in proportion to the quantity of clothing recovered for disassembly and recycling. In contrast, Resortecs' disassembly solution outperforms mechanical disassembly even with varying but significantly lower return rates for garments sent for disassembly and recycling—ranging from 1% up to 30% depending on the type of textile product or fabric. In some instances, Resortecs' active disassembly can yield profits with return rates as low as less than 1%, contingent on the product's nature and market feedstock prices. Implementing automatic disassembly has the potential to enhance Europe's textile industry competitiveness while concurrently realizing the environmental and economic advantages of achieving circularity at scale.
To transition the textile industry into a circular business, collaboration among key stakeholders is essential. However, the lack of support for such projects hinders progress, which is slower than the industry's urgent demands.
Resortecs recently published an economic report that compares the financial impact of choosing Resortecs' active disassembly technology versus manual and mechanical disassembly for four different types of textile products: cotton trousers, outdoor jackets, aramid-based protective workwear, and mattress covers. The analysis examined the costs and the added value brought by each method, considering the volumes of textile feedstock generated for recycling and the equivalent CO2 offsetting costs avoided.
The comparative economic analysis demonstrates that manual and mechanical disassembly lead to additional costs that increase in proportion to the quantity of clothing recovered for disassembly and recycling. In contrast, Resortecs' disassembly solution outperforms mechanical disassembly even with varying but significantly lower return rates for garments sent for disassembly and recycling—ranging from 1% up to 30% depending on the type of textile product or fabric. In some instances, Resortecs' active disassembly can yield profits with return rates as low as less than 1%, contingent on the product's nature and market feedstock prices. Implementing automatic disassembly has the potential to enhance Europe's textile industry competitiveness while concurrently realizing the environmental and economic advantages of achieving circularity at scale.
To transition the textile industry into a circular business, collaboration among key stakeholders is essential. However, the lack of support for such projects hinders progress, which is slower than the industry's urgent demands.