A Belgian start-up claims that it could half global CO2 emissions in the fashion industry if its technology to produce and recycle textiles were adopted worldwide.
Resortecs, founded four years ago, claims that if brands used their textiles they would be able completely and sustainably recycle their clothes. The aim is to be able to easily reuse textiles by using "thermofusible" threads to stitch them together. These threads would melt at specific temperatures in low-emission disassembly ovens capable of treating tonnes of clothes.
The textile industry is known for its large carbon footprint, with Resortecs stating that it is the third most polluting sector in the world, responsible for 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.
By recycling clothes rather than throwing them away or incinerating them, Resortecs believes that 34 million tonnes of textiles each year could be prevented from going to waste.
The technology made the shortlist of finalists for the 'Stepping Ahead' category of the 2021 Enterprise Europe Network Award – a prize supported by the European Commission. The winners will be announced on 1 October.
Resortecs plans to open the first disassembly oven at the start of October in Belgium. This will demonstrate the technology to the first commercial partners – among them established brands such as H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, and Décathlon. A second oven will be opened in 2022 with Resortec predicting that together the two should be capable of recycling "10 to 13 tonnes of clothes per day - a scale never before seen on the global level.
The Brussels Times
