When garments are worn out or no longer wanted, some are sold second-hand or used as hand-me-downs, but the vast majority end up in landfills or are incinerated. Far too few are recycled due to the fact that cotton and viscose can’t be recycled to a satisfactory standard on a large enough scale.

CIRCULOSE® replaces virgin materials such as wood pulp or cotton. It is made from 100% recyled textiles. It is a ‘dissolving pulp’ that can be used to make viscose, lyocell, modal, acetate and other types of regenerated fibres. These are then made into yarns and fabrics.

The process is as follows:

• Circulose collect clothes unsuitable for reuse and production waste. Cotton fabrics are best as they contain plenty of cellulose.
• The clothes are shredded, the colour, buttons and zips are removed and the rest is turned into a slurry. Contaminants like polyester are taken out. The result is cellulose.
• The slurry is dried to produce sheets of pure CIRCULOSE®. They are packaged into bales and made into virgin quality textile fibres by fibre producers.

Brands, textile mills and yarn spinners can view the CIRCULOSE® Supplier Network to find a supplier.