A promising innovation for recycling clothing
Brussels start-up Resortecs offers an innovative solution for improving the recycling of textile products and meeting the environmental challenges of the fashion industry. This solution is based on two major technological innovations: the use of thermo-soluble yarn during garment design and an oven specially designed to facilitate textile disassembly.
The textile industry is facing major environmental problems, with $500 billion worth of textile materials wasted every year, high greenhouse gas emissions, excessive consumption of natural resources, soil and water pollution from chemicals and microplastics and a 36% reduction in average clothing use over the past 20 years.
To address this situation, the fashion industry needs to move towards a circular model that promotes the sustainability of textile products and optimises recycling. However, one of the main obstacles is the complexity of disassembling garments composed of different materials.
Resortecs offers a two-step solution for automating disassembly right from the garment design stage, using thermo-soluble thread to sew together textiles intended for subsequent separation. This thread melts at high temperatures. Secondly, the Belgian start-up has developed a "Smart Disassembly" industrial oven which melts the sewing thread, ensures the separation of the necessary elements and preserves the quality of the material thanks to the absence of oxygen, thus enabling optimal recycling.
This approach offers significant economic benefits, including lower disassembly costs, reduced dependence on virgin raw materials and a smaller recycled plastics market. This system will be 12 times cheaper and five times faster than current manual methods.
This Belgian innovation could encourage major brands to adopt more environmentally friendly practices.