Textile separation breakthrough may bring full recycling closer
A new chemical process enabling the separation of blended polyester and cotton textiles for recycling into new fabrics and yarns has been described as groundbreaking by its developers at the H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. The process, which researchers claim doesn't reduce fabric quality, is being seen as a significant step towards “closed-loop” processing, in which only recycled materials are used. The process uses heat, water and a small amount of a “biodegradable green chemical” to separate fabric blends in a system that is cost-effective and causes no secondary pollution, researchers say.

HONG KONG – A significant breakthrough has been announced by the H&M Foundation and Hong Kong researchers in a four-year project to chemically recycle polyester and cotton blended textiles into new polyester fabrics and yarns without any quality loss.

The joint-partners say this new fibre-to-fibre recycling process – developed as part of a €30M funded project – is another major step towards closed-loop textile processing.