Textile wastes: re-use them or lose them

At the University of Borâs, Sweden, Ph.D. students devised a method to produce 500 grams of ethanol from a kilogram of denim waste. This is one example of the possibilities explored at a recent sustainability forum in Swinburne, Australia, sponsored by the Technical Textiles Nonwovens Association. Conference speakers examined ways that textile waste can sustainably become new products or green power. Approximately four percent of landfill contents consist of factory fabric waste and discarded garments, raw materials that can be regenerated into usable products.