No matter the spelling, circularity has become a pinnacle in textile manufacturing, both as an environmental goal and selling point for brands.
Grace Home Fashions, a unit of GHCL Ltd., has introduced a new bedding collection called Cirkularity that supports the circular economy and centers around the concept and practice of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle,” Manu Kapur, president and CEO of Home Textiles, explained.
Showing the collection in the company’s New York showroom, Kapur said Cirkularity grew out of the company’s Rekoop line of bedding made from PET derived from recycled plastic water bottles. Introduced in March, GHCL partnered with Applied DNA Sciences’ CertainT program that verifies material through molecular tagging, and Reliance Industries Ltd., an Indian recycled polyester manufacturer.
Related Stories
“We said to ourselves, ‘what’s next?’ and decided to do a fully sustainable collection,” Kapur said. “We are very passionate about sustainability. With the launch of Cirkularity, we aim to target the ecologically conscious consumer who is making purchase decisions to support the environment and is supportive of initiatives which help reduce the carbon footprint.”
With eight distinct groups, Cirkularity reinforces the company’s commitment to sustainability, traceability, innovation and giving back to society, he noted. Fibers and fabrics are all natural, and the line incorporates several new recycled materials.
The Spin Win collection uses comber noil, a waste by-product of the yarn spinning process, and organic cotton. Kapur noted that using comber noil instead of cotton reduces water consumption by about 3,200 gallons per set. The Naturlig line is made entirely from organic cotton, which he noted results in lower usage of chemicals and water.
The Cratus collection is comprised of a blend of Supima cotton and Lenzing’s Micro Tencel, which are derived from sustainable wood sources. The combination creates a soft, absorbent and resilient product product. Comall uses Micro Tencel percale blended with sustainably grown Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton for a peach finish, cool-feeling collection.
The Wood Wheel is made entirely from Lenzing’s Refibra in a percale finish. Refibra technology involves upcycling post-industrial cotton scraps and wood pulp. Tencel is combined with recycled polyester percale in the Sylva-Cel collection that uses Vortex spun yarn for extra durability.
Rounding out the Cirkularity group is the Velvette line made from Tencel and cotton twill that offers soft comfort and strong draping and wicking ability, and Nefertiti, which is made from BCI cotton, lyocell and linen percale that’s garment washed for an extra soft hand.
GHCL’s Home Textile division is an integrated operation that includes yarn spinning and weaving, dyeing, printing and processing. GHCL operates its home textiles facility in Vapi, India. With an in-house spinning unit at Madurai, India, GHCL has an annual production capacity of 45 million meters of finished fabric. GHCL’s home textile products are exported to the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Germany and other European Union countries.
