Beirholm’s Post

Did you spot the difference?   Here’s a brief story about our struggles.   Recycled polyester is greyer than virgin polyester. That’s not a problem if the textile is to be coloured – then you won’t spot the difference. It’s a problem though, if you want to create white bed linen for hotels or table linen for restaurants.   After years of research and development and many trials, we have now managed to achieve the degree of whiteness necessary for our laundry partners to seamlessly shift to recycled polyester.   But why bother?   We expect EU legislation to demand more recycled content in textiles going forward. And recycled polyester reduces CO2e emissions by 60% compared to virgin polyester. Plus, it’s a commercially sound choice. Now, it’s also feasible for our laundry partners to blend into current textile pools, thanks to the degree of whiteness.   So. Same same. But different. Simply a more future-proof textile investment.   Read more about our approach to CO2-analysis here: https://lnkd.in/dQF35EpF   WRP Wäscherei- und Reinigungspraxis R+WTextilservice Brancheforeningen for Vask og Tekstiludlejning Deutscher Textilreinigungs-Verband e.V. ETSA - European Textile Services Association Sveriges Tvätteriförbund Green Key International

🌎 In celebration of #ClimateWeekNYC, I’m excited to share this article on textile waste, where we explore the challenges and potential solutions. Co-authoring this piece with Philippe Isler was a fantastic experience, as his expertise in trade facilitation and global case studies helped us tackle some of the industry's biggest issues. 👕 Did you know that 1% of these textiles are recycled into new fibers? Or that the apparel industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions?   👀 Our goal was to raise awareness and highlight effective approaches from other sectors that could be adapted to address textile waste. 🏭 What industries do you think are leading the way in end-to-end recycling? If you have any inspiring examples of circularity, I’d love to hear them—feel free to share in the comments! Stay tuned for more updates! 🚛 Kimberley Botwright and Jeet Kar are spearheading incredible efforts in circular and green trade, while Thom Almeida's leadership is paving the way for a sustainable circular apparel initiative and the necessary mechanisms to support it. ♻   https://lnkd.in/eZ66F5J4 #wef #SDIM24 #circularity

link to new textile sustainability article in TRJ

Fascinating sustainability insights 💡 from the Textile Exchange from their Materials Market 2023 report: 👕 Cotton from the programs recognized by the 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge returned to 27% of total cotton production in 2021/22. 🐏 Wool produced according to the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), ZQ, SustainaWOOL (GREEN and GOLD), and Climate Beneficial™ increased from around 3% in 2021 to 4.3% in 2022. 🌳 Manmade cellulosic fibers certified by FSC- and/or PEFC had an estimated market share of about 60-65% ♻️ Recycled textiles’ market share slightly decreased from around 8.5% in 2021 to 7.9% in 2022. Check out all the insights here 👇

Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, a thought struck me about the parallels between sugar and plastics, which is fitting since I’m currently wrestling with giving up all refined sugar to get healthier. Trying is definitely the keyword here :) Both sugars and plastics pose problems. Do we still need them? In certain cases, yes. Now, you might say, 'Komal, have you tried some alternatives?' I sure have. Stevia, aspartame—they just don’t sit well with my gut. And I’ve given monk fruit and maltitol a shot, but no luck there either. It’s much the same story with plastics. We're all on a quest to find viable alternatives. Like many, I strive to remember my reusable tote bag, but there are times when I forget it at home or it isn’t enough for all my groceries. In those moments, I’m left with no option but to add yet another bag to my growing collection. And here’s another striking similarity—they’re almost ubiquitous. Trust me, quitting sugar has truly opened my eyes to how prevalent it is. Plastics are no different; they permeate almost every aspect of our lives, despite our best efforts to avoid them. Now, I’m not entirely anti-plastic. There’s a place for them, certainly, but not everywhere, and absolutely not in single-use forms. Yes, you read that correctly—single-use items, be they plastic or paper bags, cutlery, or cups, are a no-go for me. Our world, driven by convenience and cost, isn’t ready to part with plastics. Sometimes, even life cycle assessments (LCAs) support their use. But then consider something as commonplace as a cola bottle—what a lethal combination of sugar and plastic! Is there a more iconic yet problematic duo? So, when Hassan Akhtar from IOM3 (Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining) approached Ingrid Trinidad Seeldrayers and me to pen a piece on rethinking the PET loop, we jumped at the chance. We didn't just theorize; we explored the reality behind the sustainability claims of turning PET bottles into textiles. Is this practice the sustainability utopia it’s touted to be? Our research revealed that converting PET bottles into textiles, commonly hailed as an environmental success, might actually undermine sustainability by funneling recyclable materials into a linear pathway that typically culminates in landfills. Additionally, the existing PET bottle-to-bottle recycling systems are hindered by inefficiencies, particularly in reverse logistics; improving these could significantly decrease our dependence on virgin materials and foster genuine sustainability. Curious about the intricate details and our full argument? Check out our article here, https://lnkd.in/gBQJw4EC, and let us know what you think; we'd love to hear your thoughts. KIAM Consultancy #sustainability #recycling #closedloop #systemsthinking #circularity #communications #bottletobottlerecycling #PET

⭕ What are the dangers of textile recycling ? ⭕ The #EU wants to reduce textile waste and increase the life cycle and recycling of textiles to combat the harmful effects of #fastfashion on the environment. "This is part of the plan to achieve a circular economy by 2050“, published the European Parliament. Recycling textile has several advantages : ▪ to reduce environmental impact by reducing waste and carbon footprint, through lower demand for virgin resources and energy savings. ▪ to preserve natural ressources such as water and raw materials, by using recycled materials such as cotton. ▪ It promotes circular economy , stimulates innovation and responds to growing consumer demand for sustainable products. ▪ It can reduce production costs and create local jobs, strengthening the local economy. But on the other hand, recycling presents potential dangers, which we will look at in 8 points in this article 👇 #recycling #textile #circulareconomy #fashion #sustainablefashion #pearlsmagazine https://lnkd.in/dBZ-5NWg

Why not just use recycled polyester? 💡 - Some may ask. This past Monday, on Earth Day, we reflected on the significant threat plastic poses to our environment. With this year's global theme being "Planet vs. Plastic," the urgency to address this issue has never been clearer. 📣 Following up on our recent update about reducing our polyester usage and incorporating organic cotton and LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose where possible, let's discuss why we're not simply switching to recycled polyester. 🧶 Some may wonder why we don't just opt for recycled polyester, a material commonly used by clothing manufacturers. 👖 Recycled polyester is often derived from melted plastic bottles. A plastic bottle can be recycled five to six times, whereas a T-shirt made of recycled polyester is difficult to recycle back into textile fiber. ↻ This is because polyester is often used in combination with other materials such as elastane, and the industry still lacks technology that can efficiently separate these different materials on a large scale. ✂🧵 Therefore, our stance is that the plastic from recycled bottles, used to produce recycled polyester, serves a better purpose by remaining as plastic bottles. ✋

The problem of using recycled PET bottles in textiles   In an article early 2024 NRC editor Liza van Lonkhuyzen takes a close look at the so-called sustainability of recycled clothes. What turns out: most clothes labelled recycled are not made from old clothes, but from returned PET bottles.   Good right? No. First of all, there's too little investment in something much more complicated, but also much more rewarding: recycling used clothes into new clothes. We call this "post consumer" - it involves used textiles. Garment manufacturers typically don't do this, but get PET bottles from another circular system because it's so easy and cheap. Secondly, it seems sustainable, but they forget that you can endlessly make new ones from old PET bottles, while the PET bottles that end up in textiles never make it back into recycled bottles.   Besides the above issues, plastic in general is not bio-degradable and plastic in garments release micro plastics during production and use phase. In order to recycle old textiles at end-of-life, the plastic content needs to be separated from the natural fibers. This makes the sorting process of post consumer/used textiles very in-efficient, complex and therefore costly. This means its economically infeasible and therefore garments made from these blended materials end up in landfills, incineration or downcycling. For this reason at nxtile we started our circular journey with 100% cotton pre consumer waste. This industrial waste creates the perfect entry point to massively save land, water and avoid CO2 emissions. Want to know more facts about the pro’s and cons on post and pre consumer waste, stay tuned for our next BLOG. www.nxtile.eu #recycledcotton #sustainable #circular #petbottles

Did you know the fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions and is responsible for significant water consumption? Textile production and waste have severe environmental impacts, with Europeans consuming 26 kg of textiles per person per year, 73% of which ends up in landfills or incinerated. Join us in making a difference. Choose textile reuse and recycling to reduce this footprint. Learn more about the environmental impact and how you can help: https://bit.ly/4fkIVLU

What is GRS Global Certification? Hengbang Textile yarns certified by GRS Global Certification The Global Recycle Standard for Textiles and Apparel (GRS for short) was originally formulated by the Netherlands Regulatory Union and implemented in November 2008. It is a third-party certification standard established for the use of recycled fibers after recycling waste textiles. In January 2011, the Dutch Control Union transferred the copyright of the global recycling standard for textiles and clothing to the world's most influential American textile exchange. The goals of GRS certification are to: unify definitions for multiple applications, trace recyclable input materials, and provide customers with a tool to make informed decisions. Reducing the harmful impact of production on people and the environment, ensuring more sustainable recycling and disposal of materials in the final product, and fostering innovation to address quality challenges in the application of recycled materials. GRS Global Certification is an internationally recognized certification for products made with recycled materials. It is based on the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), which sets requirements for the use of recycled materials, social and environmental practices, and supply chain transparency. Hengbang Textile yarns certified by GRS Global Certification Hengbang Textile mainly produces 0E recycled yarns, which are made from recycled materials such as post-consumer scraps of clothes. These yarns are certified by GRS Global Certification, ensuring that they meet the highest standards for sustainability and responsible production. By choosing GRS-certified products, customers can be confident that they are supporting environmentally friendly practices and contributing to a more sustainable future. Hengbang Textile is committed to producing high-quality recycled yarns that not only meet the needs of their customers but also have a positive impact on the environment. With GRS Global Certification, they can demonstrate their dedication to sustainability and transparency in their operations.