Capturing fabric waste in the ‘Green Loop’

Two reprocessors of fiber and textile byproducts recently joined forces to increase the volume of post-consumer textile waste (PCTW) removed from landfills and incinerators. Trans-Americas Textile Recycling, Clifton, N.J., works with retailers, municipalities and charitable groups to recover an estimated 70,000 pounds of PCTW daily. Leigh Fibers Inc., Wellford, S.C., reprocesses PCTW and exports recycled fibers to more than 25 countries for use in automobiles, home furnishings, construction products, caskets, pet supplies and other industries. The alliance between the two offers “manufacturers of apparel, footwear and household textiles a more effective end-of-life program for their products,” says Eric Stubin, president of Trans-Americas. “We call it the Green Loop—an integrated approach that extends product usefulness.”