Utilizing discarded textiles

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is coordinating a project to develop a profitable circular economy for textiles. The Telaketju project is establishing an ecosystem formed by companies and other actors to develop an extensive sorting and collection network for different discarded fibers—from cotton to polyester and viscose. It is also looking at ways to establish opportunities to utilize the sorted materials in order to raise the circular economy for textiles to a new level. The project received $2.5 million in funding from Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. Product demonstrators will be created during the project that will use fibers diversely through various technologies in plastic composites or nonwoven fabric products. The suitability of recycled fiber for different applications is also being studied.