Scoop: new Textiles2Textiles recycling machine
The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. One hundred billion new garments are produced every year. More than half of these clothes are discarded within a year. The massive and lightning-fast production of clothing that is then used for a short time leads to CO2 emissions, a soup of plastic and pollution of the soil and water.
The Zaan company from Wormerveer Textiles2Textiles – abbreviated T2 – has a recycling first. This machine can expertly tear, unzip and untie fabric. Read more about the processing of clothing using the Trimclean machine here.
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More about the polluting clothing industry
In the Netherlands, we buy an average of around 50 new items of clothing per person every year. Crops have to be grown and stables have to be heated. The production of clothing materials requires a lot of energy. When the energy is burned, COâ‚‚ is released. These greenhouse gases cause global warming and climate change.
If the amount of CO2 emissions continues at the same rate, the earth will warm up more and more. For animals and plants this means that the habitat changes, they will become extinct or have to leave for another area. The consequences are also noticeable for us as humans. There will be more sortouts, heavier storms or longer periods of drought and heat.
Who are Textiles2Textiles?
T2T, located in North Holland, focuses on reusing textiles in the ultimate form. The ideal goal is to make the most of every fiber in a garment. The new Trimclean fits perfectly with the objective of this company. The company’s ambitions are on a global scale. Wieland Textiles, Retail Experts and the municipality of Zaanstad, among others, are the shareholders and together form the day-to-day management.
How does the Trimclean work?
In addition to sustainable apps, sustainable textiles and organic and vegan clothing, T2T manages to develop the first Trimclean. How it works? The ‘old’ clothing is first taken through the car wash. The Trimclean knows how to sort old clothing by color and cut it into small pieces of fabric. Then everything that does not belong in the original fabric – such as zippers, buttons and brand labels – is removed.
Normally these zippers, buttons and labels were always cut away by hand. Behind the scenes, the TrimClean has been working for almost 3 years. The machine in Wormerveer is the only machine worldwide that can do this: a real first!
Does this mean that all clothing is recyclable?
Unfortunately, clothing remains largely non-recyclable, not even with the arrival of the Trimclean. The installation knows how to handle any kind of dust. However, it is not possible for every item of clothing. The Trimclean cannot be called completely perfect. The pilot does show that it is possible to recycle any piece of fabric.
