Accelerating Circular System Trials will pressure test circular textile-to-textile systems from collection and sorting through finished garments to determine material flows, process gaps, challenges and opportunities. We will use a minimum of 50 tons of yarn for the trials that include t-shirts, jeans and home textiles.

Accelerating Circularity’s core work is to facilitate collaborations between the industry actors in textile-to-textile supply systems through the execution of “commercial” trials. We bring the entire supply network together to develop the products and processes that have the best chance of success to implement circular supply systems with existing capabilities. Each step will be required to work within industry standard MOQs so that we can evaluate the ability to run at commercial scale. At the same time we will test processes including collecting, sorting, preprocessing and recycling technologies that are pre-commercial to evaluate their fit into commercial systems for a view into the future. The Trial System Partner Working Groups will include each step; collector, sorter, preprocessor, recycler, yarn spinner, fabric mill, CMT and brand and retailer, for a specific product categories, e.g. Jeans, T-shirts, Fleece and Towels. Economic, environmental and social data will be collected at each stage of the trials. Additionally, we will look at the amount of spent textiles used and logistical feasibility. All data and learnings will be shared publicly. The overall results will be used to create methodologies for other geographies and materials.

Accelerating Circularity’s work is based on the concept that with the development of knowledge on missing or under-utilized supply chain links and the identification of requirements necessary to connect those links, maps can be developed that will allow the industry to choose among a multitude of paths the right direction for their individual businesses to quickly and efficiently adopt truly circular supply chains. By outlining these roadmaps to include multiple waste streams as raw material sources through waste handlers, sorters and recycling technologies that can link to the traditional textile supply chain the use of virgin resources will be displaced and textile waste will be reduced. As stated above Accelerating Circularity’s primary goal is trial so that we can develop and share information that will explicitly allow for capacity building of circular supply systems.

Accelerating Circularity’s Steering Committee oversees the strategy and activities as well as being active participants in the trials. Additionally we have 3 working groups: 1. The Brand & Retailer Working Group who have been working on collaborating take back programs, identifying product for system trials and developing product specifications. 2. The Spent Textiles Working Group (collectors, sorter, preprocessors and recyclers) who have been working on the development of a Textile Use Case Hierarchy and matrices that outline capabilities, restrictions and consideration for textile recyclers. 3. Trials System Partner Working Groups are being established that brings together the entire circular system for each product category. They will work together to ensure the feasibility of specific product trials and gather environmental, social and economic data for the report out to the industry. Each of the groups have a role to play to ensure that we are staying on task and will be able to deliver on the project’s goals.

Gap Inc, Target, VF Corp., Lenzing, Unifi Inc., Giotex, Gr3n, Eastman, Bank & Vogue, Parkdale Mils, Martex, 1888 Mills and Accelerating Circularity.