Denim mills shining examples in circularity report
Boosting the use of post-industrial textile waste as a feedstock for new fabrics is the focus of the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA)’s new Upstream Circularity Playbook, published in six languages.
With support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the H&M Foundation, the report draws on 20 global case studies – including several denim mills - to provide a guide to help stakeholders scale circular business models.
In Bangladesh alone, embracing textile recycling could unlock $4 billion to $5 billion annually through the export of recycled products, it said. However, limited recycling capacity underscores a critical gap in industrial waste management.
The report looks at a collaboration between recycled cotton provider Recover, denim mill Evlox and technology producer Jeanologia to create denims with high percentage recycled content, Reiconics.
It covers Artistic Milliners’ Circular Park in Pakistan, a 70,000-square-foot facility that can recycle 500,000 kilogrammes of post-industrial and post-use waste each month.
In 2021, China-headquartered Crystal launched Second Life, an initiative to recycle post-industrial denim waste, creating RCS-certified denim fabrics, with QR codes providing customers with detailed information.
Interloop collects its industrial textile waste and converts it into fibrous form using its Rag Opening Machines. In March 2024, it initiated a waste-mapping programme in partnership with Reverse Resources and Pakistan’s National Textile University. By digitising inventory, it aims to provide waste traceability, with rollout across all its facilities next year.
GFA previously noted in the Scaling Circularity Report that existing recycling technologies have the potential to drive up to 80% circularity in the fashion industry if fully scaled. Additionally, the Pre-Feasibility Report highlights that, in the case of Bangladesh, recycling textile waste could reduce cotton imports by 20%, saving nearly $750 million annually.
Edwin Keh, CEO at HKRITA, whose Green Machine also features in the publication, said: "Our industry's pace of change has to accelerate to achieve our climate goals. This Upstream Circularity Playbook is an effort to support the effort and drive momentum. This is a practical guide to how we best use, reuse, and repurpose our supply chain's resources."
