AHFE Open AccessCircularity research using fashion industry waste as new fibers for eco-designed knitwear.
Abstract
Recycling is minimal in the approximately 7 million tons of waste generated each year in the European Union's fashion value chain, which is burned or disposed of in landfills. Therefore, it is very important to develop recycling processes for textile waste and introduce them into clothing, promoting the circular economy. Relevance is based on compliance with EU regulations and directives regarding sustainability and circular fashion and the principles of eco-design. It demands stringent minimum requirements for durability and recyclability. Products must be designed with long service life cycles in mind. Mechanically recycled fibers are shorter, posing a challenge for eco-engineering in fiber blend design and the production of fine and regular yarns. To demonstrate that knitwear eco-design enables the production of sustainable clothing without compromising wear performance yarns and knit samples were developed, whose quality parameters were laboratory evaluated and compared with market references. It is technically possible to produce relatively fine (25 Nm) and regular (USTER international statistics) yarns with 50% wool/viscose waste and 50% virgin cotton. Within the scope of the be@t project, that the primary focus is the bio-economy of the textile industry, laboratory work was carried out at the Department of Textile Science and Technology. Through eco-design, the structure of the knits placed the yarns with recycled fibers in the inner layer and the yarns with virgin fibers in the outer layer, thus maintaining the durability, appearance, and touch of the garment similar to those of the control garment made with 100% virgin fiber yarns. Fashion eco-design practices enable the production of commercial clothing incorporating recycled fibers, with an acceptable level of quality, contributing to circularity and the reduction of textile waste.
Keywords: Fashion Circularity, Recycled Fibers, Eco-Design, Eco, Engineering, Knitwear Properties
DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1008190
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