Full Circle: Circularity efforts are moving past the trial phase.
Accelerating Circularity, an advanced textile-to-textile polyester recycling project backed by Amazon and Zalando, debuted its first proof-of-concept. Its T-shirt is made of recycled textiles — but not just any recycled textiles — it marks the first demonstration of the pilot’s U.S. commercial-scale, textile-to-textile recycling trial.
“These T-shirts demonstrate what is possible through the collaborative efforts of our partners,” said Karla Magruder, founder and president of Accelerating Circularity. “The 100 percent cotton T-shirts were made from 26/1 yarn by Giotex from a combination of recycled postconsumer textiles, postindustrial textiles and virgin cotton.” Partners including yarn maker Giotex (which spun the yarn) and recycling partner Bank and Vogue (which collected the feedstock) made the feat possible.
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Though only a T-shirt to show for now, Accelerating Circularity is working on denim, fleece, workwear and towels in undisclosed partnerships between supply chain partners and brands in the U.S. and Europe.
In another first endeavor, sustainable apparel brand Tentree is opening its first retail location on Thursday, in Washington, D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood. The brand is known for its Tencel, organic cotton and Hemp loungewear. For every Tentree item purchased, a tree is planted, and the company claims it recently hit its 100 million-tree milestone. The store encapsulates the Tentree’s penchant for nature, as the location will be filled with plants and planting journey photos.
Mill Investments: Candiani Denim won the International Textile Machinery Association’s Sustainable Innovation Award for 2023.
The award acknowledges collaborative, sustainable textile innovation. Candiani Denim received the award for its novel denim micro factory located in the heart of Milan. “The Candiani Custom” project launched in 2020, offering bespoke jeans — all of which are cut, packaged, treated and washed on site — using Candiani’s sustainable denim fabrics.
The project combats the narrative of overproduction, imbuing a customer-first, immersive and localized approach to jeans design. Candiani claims the reshored micro factory represents the “shortest supply chain in the world,” all enclosed in a 238-kilometer radius. At the heart of it is technology and craft.
On the other side of tech investments, Inditex and Jeanologia developed “Air Fiber Washer,” an industrial air system designed to capture microfiber shedding in textiles. The firms reported the Air Fiber Washer extracted up to 60 percent of microfibers during garment manufacturing tests by using dynamic airflow in combination with microfiltration to capture microfibers. Each machine collects up to 325 kilograms of microfibers per year.
Resale Moves: On Wednesday, vintage purveyor Beyond Retro teamed with start-up Loanhood for a first-of-its-kind circular rental offer. The curation includes 10 full outfits curated by Beyond Retro, with things like statement jackets featured. Each look is available for a one week rental in time for summer festival season.