Small Design Changes Transforming Recycling Duds to Valuable Resources
Apparel Magazine
APRIL 27, 2022
New Zealand’s Deane Apparel is partnering with Australian-based clean technology company Blocktexx, to create clothing that is 100 percent recyclable in Australia.
Deane Apparel design, manufacture, and distribute uniforms for some of Australia and New Zealand’s biggest corporations, including fast food chains, aged and health care services and airlines. The partnership is a step towards reducing the one million tonnes of textile waste that ends up in landfill in Australia each year.
With global textile waste predicted to hit 140 million tonnes by 2030, Blocktexx recycling of textiles is a step in the right direction. Blocktexx is pioneering new technologies and proactive end of life design services to help companies divert unwanted clothing away from landfill. BlockTexx’s world-first S.O.F.T. (separation of fibre technology) process takes cotton and polyester textile waste and turns it into high grade cellulose powder and rPET pellets that can be used for a range of industrial and manufacturing applications.
However, for discarded clothing to go through this process, common trimmings such as metal buttons, zips, press studs, reflective tape and elastic have to be removed. This decommissioning process can be a time-consuming and costly deterrent to recycling. Deane Apparel is working with BlockTexx to skip over this step by identifying ways to develop uniforms that are ready to be recycled. These small changes can add up to big wins for the environment.
Deane Apparel is moving into sustainable fabrics like polyester as their clients look for ways to improve their environmental outcomes, including achieving circularity. Deane Apparel’s background in the fashion industry means the company can offer deep industry knowledge and practical design experience combined with fabric identification technology to future proof processes and textile supply chains. The collaboration with Blocktexx is offering real and genuine solutions with a garment’s end of life firmly in mind.
BlockTexx is set to open a world-first, commercial scale, textile recovery facility in Logan, Queensland in 2022.
