Fast fashion is a major environmental offender, requiring large amounts of water consumption and causing high carbon emissions and pollution. It also leads to a surge in microplastics and textile waste.
One result is the thrifting boom. However, recycling old clothing into new items poses a much greater challenge.
According to various sources, the fashion industry is responsible for 4% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new clothing. That’s because most fabrics today are blends and must be broken down into their original fibers in order to be recreated.
A Virginia-based startup is solving a problem with the goal of turning fashion into a circular economy.
Founded in 2011, Circ has developed a technology that separates polycotton materials into their original components and recycles them into new, high-quality materials. Previous attempts have destroyed one of the fibers.
“This is a chemical process,” said Peter Magellanowski, CEO of Circ. “It’s a lot like not baking a cake: you break down the polyester into its constituent parts, separate it from the cotton, and send it back to the beginning of the supply chain to remake it into a new garment.”
Polyester and cotton account for approximately 77% of the global textile market. Circ’s hydrothermal technology can recycle not only individual fibers, but also any mixing ratio of the two, known as polycotton blends.
“We’re working with materials that can’t be recycled, repaired or resold,” Majellanowski said. “It’s really going to a landfill or an incinerator.”
Circ obtains used clothing from a variety of sources, including purchase or donation. After breaking down the fibers, the fibers are sold back into the clothing supply chain to spinners, dyers, and fabric manufacturers. allbirdsZARA and H&M use Circ recycled fibers in some of their products.
There’s a slight premium, but it’s an attractive option for environmentally conscious brands like Patagonia, which is also an investor in Circ.
Matthew Dwyer, Patagonia’s vice president of global product footprint, said: “Going after really important ingredients, like cotton and poly blends, is always at the top of our decision-making.”
As for higher prices, Dwyer said that’s to be expected for innovations that need to expand into major markets.
“For us, it’s not just about bringing it to market, it’s about making sure our partners are ready to scale up from there, because if you’re just building concept cars, you’re not doing any good and you’re not in the business of saving the planet,” he said.
Circ has raised a total of $100 million from Patagonia, along with Temasek, Taranis, Marubeni, Inditex, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
The startup is headquartered in Danville, Virginia, which was once home to the largest textile mill in the United States. We are currently expanding globally and are building the first industrial scale fiber-to-textile recycling plant in France.
