The textile industry has a significant impact on the environment through the use of water, land and chemicals in the production of fibres, yarns and fabrics. The growing amount of textile waste and increasing consumer demand for sustainable products are pushing the industry to transition from a linear to a circular economy. This means that waste is reused as raw material for new products, in with recycled fibers playing a key role. To make recycling textiles as common as paper and glass, advanced recycling techniques and awareness are necessary. New legislation requires that by 2030, at least 30% of the fiber content in clothing must be circular. Saxion, together with textile companies, including Schijvens and the Ministry of Defense, Category Workwear Rijk, develops test methods to determine the presence, quantity and origin of recycled fibers in textiles.
These methods, developed in previous RECAN projects, use techniques such as microscopy and fiber length differences, among other things, to qualitatively and semi-quantitatively analyze the recycled fiber content, which is crucial for the reliability and transparency of the textile industry. We at Schijvens are happy to support such projects and are happy with the results. This is necessary to get recycling in the textile industry off the ground and we hope it will contribute to reducing greenwashing.
More information can be found in the video and at: Recan III – Tech for Future.