The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has found new technology to extract and reuse polyester fibers infinitely into new clothes. Each year only a fraction is recycled of the 80 billion pieces of clothing produced. The polyester fibers can be made into new garments straightaway with no loss in quality, which is why this new technology is being dubbed fiber-to-fiber recycling.
Compared to the production of virgin polyester, this method consumes 70 per cent less energy. HKRITA’s new methodology requires limited manpower, simple equipment that textile recycling companies may already own, and the water used in the process can be recycled. A HKRITA-patented chemical solution is used to break down cotton into cellulose particles in a process that combines heat and water and is separated from the fabric.
The goal is to have the technology ready for the market by 2020. Once ready, the technology will be made available to companies through licensing, the terms of which have yet to be decided by HKRITA, which will own the license.
HKRITA’s fiber-to-fiber method currently only works to repurpose polyester—a petroleum-based fiber found in most apparel—and further work is needed before it can recover other materials.
