C&A is taking part in the latest Full Circle Textiles Project – Polyester, an initiative focusing on polyester recycling. Initiated by Fashion for Good, an Amsterdam-based global platform for innovation in textiles, the project aims to validate and scale promising technologies in polyester chemical recycling while encouraging partners in the fashion industry to invest in this field.
Fashion for Good has enlisted promising innovators in polyester chemical recycling from around the world to participate in the project, including CuRe Technology, Garbo, gr3n and PerPETual. In the coming 18 months, the project’s aim is to produce chemically recycled polyester from post-consumer textile waste that will eventually be used in fabric and garment production. The results will be assessed and validated by participating partners including C&A.
“At C&A, we see textile-to-textile recycling solutions such as chemically recycled polyester as a key enabler to closing the material loop and reducing virgin resource consumption,” said Martha Willis, Senior Manager Sustainable Materials and Circular Innovation at C&A. “This project will help us all in understanding the barriers, impacts and opportunities in the chemical recycling of polyester and is an important foundation to C&A’s commitment to connect principles of circularity to 7 out of 10 of our products by 2028.”
According to Fashion for Good, Polyester makes up 52% of the global fibre market. As a synthetic fibre derived from petroleum, polyester does not naturally break down in the environment. Chemical recycling is a key solution that promises to address the polyester textile waste challenge.
“Textile recycling is a key focus for Fashion for Good. With the success of the first Full Circle Textiles Project, and proof that a galvanised consortium of stakeholders from across the industry can truly shift the needle, we can now turn our attention to applying these learnings and steps to scale to another critical area; textile-to-textile polyester recycling.,” said Katrin Ley, Managing Director at Fashion for Good.
