PVH Corp, the home of a portfolio of leading fashion brands that includes Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger has become the newest member of the fibre-to-fibre consortium founded by Carbios, On, Patagonia, PUMA and Salomon aimed at testing and validating Carbios’ biorecycling process for textile recycling.
Over the past two years, the consortium has striven to promote the transition of the textile industry toward a circular economy, amongst others by using Carbios’ proprietary process at an industrial scale.
"The Carbios belief is that we can achieve more as a collective,” said Emmanuel Ladent, CEO of Carbios, in welcoming PVH as the new member.
Carbios’ technology uses highly selective enzymes that can recycle blended feedstocks, thus reducing the extensive sorting required by the currently prevalent thermomechanical recycling methods. The company’s patented enzyme acts solely on the PET polyester in the input mix of fibre textiles. The process yields a recycled PET quality equivalent to virgin; these are suitable for use to produce new textile fibres - a major breakthrough for the textile industry.
Globally, only 13% of textile waste is currently recycled, mainly into lower quality padding, insulation or rags. The remaining 87% is destined for landfill or incineration. In order to work on improving textile recycling technologies, the members of the consortium contribute feedstock in the form of apparel, underwear, footwear and sportswear.
This implies that to produce fibres and fabrics, the textile industry today largely relies on non-renewable resources, as well as to a small extent on recycled PET bottles for recycled polyester fiber. This latter resource, however, is dwindling, as PET bottles will in the future solely be used to produce new bottles to enable the food & beverage industry to be able to meet the mandated percent of recycled content under the incoming EU legislation.
A more cicular economy will see textiles being sourced from recycled or renewable feedstocks produced through regenerative practices. As well as supplying feedstock for the demonstrator, Consortium members aim to create new products from Carbios’ r-PET fibres produced using its biorecycling process.
Meanwhile, in 2023, a new line for textile PET waste will be started up at Carbios’ demonstration facility as part of the LIFE Cycle of PET project co-funded by the European Union.