TEXAID, a leading company in the collecting, sorting, reselling and recycling of post-consumer textile waste, included Marchi & Fildi in an international team with several companies active at different stages of the circular textile production chain with the goal to develop a fabric representing a model of development that could be repeatable also for different projects.
For decades, Texaid has been leading with textile waste. In particular, they are protagonist of the current discussion, focused on the importance of moving from the traditional management of post-consumer textile waste.
Marchi & Fildi, through its know-how about the recycling of fibers and several experiences with the ECOTEC® process in this field, has participated in several projects led by TEXAID, to provide important added value to the development of a specific supply chain dedicated to textile recycling.
This specific project for the development of a “textile-to-textile” model has been based on post- consumer white cotton, collected and sorted by Texaid in Germany and Switzerland. Marchi & Fildi evaluated the possibility of developing a 100% recycled yarn for weaving, with 50% of post consumer recycled cotton by TEXAID blended with 50% with REPREVE® Our Ocean™, a premium collection of recycled performance fiber sourced from plastic bottles at high risk of entering the ocean. REPREVE® Our Ocean™ is manufactured by UNIFI, an industry innovator and global textile solutions provider.
This special blend has been developed and produced with the ECOTEC® technology, in the Biella facility of the Group, in line with the main mission of the ECOTEC® brand: giving a second life to material that otherwhise would be treated as waste. The yarn has been woven into a fabric by Tessitura Casoni.T.F.C., which is also located in the Biella area.
The result of this international supply chain represents the possibility to create high added value through the collaboration of strong and specialized partnership networks, together with the increased focus of European companies on the topic of circular economy, both for research and development and for production.
About TEXAID
TEXAID is circular service specialist for the fashion and textile industry. As European market leader dedicated to sustainability, TEXAID is an experienced global solution provider in professional collecting, sorting, repair, reselling and recycling of textiles and footwear.
With more than 40 years of experience, TEXAID processes more than 280M items (80.000 tons) annually. TEXAID’s operational presence spans Europe and North America, with more than 1,000 employees contributing daily to saving millions of textiles from landfill or incineration. For more information about TEXAID, visit www.texaid.ch.
About UNIFI
UNIFI, Inc. (NYSE: UFI) is a global textile solutions provider and one of the world’s leading innovators in manufacturing synthetic and recycled performance fibers. Through REPREVE®, one of UNIFI’s proprietary technologies and the global leader in branded recycled performance fibers, UNIFI has transformed more than 35 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber for new apparel, footwear, home goods, and other consumer products. UNIFI continually innovates technologies to meet consumer needs in moisture management, thermal regulation, antimicrobial protection, UV protection, stretch, water resistance, and enhanced softness. UNIFI collaborates with many of the world’s most influential brands in the sports apparel, fashion, home, automotive and other industries. For more information about UNIFI, visit www.unifi.com.
UNIFI® is a registered trademark of Unifi, Inc.