2024-11-25 20:57:00
Bark™, the advanced textile remanufacturing company, and New Textile Fibers (NFT)a French company specializing in the recovery of used textiles, today announced a collaboration in the sourcing and recycling of textile waste to support the creation of a circular system in France. NFT will supply Reju with secondary raw materials obtained from used or unused textiles for recycling and processing into regenerated Reju Polyester™.
Reju and NFT will work together to expand infrastructure for the collection and processing of clothing and textile waste from post-consumer and post-industrial sources. Working with also enables an open supply chain and guarantees 100 percent traceability of recycled materials.
Reju is developing the infrastructure to regenerate textile waste on a large scale, starting with polyester. The final product – Reju Polyester™ – is said to have a 50% lower carbon footprint than virgin polyester and can be regenerated infinitely. Reju’s first demonstration plant – Regeneration Hub Zero – is now in operation in Frankfurt am Main and will enable the production of Reju-PET in 2025.
The materials supplied by NFT will be processed in Reju’s new Regeneration Hub Zero in Frankfurt, Germany and in the future Reju Regeneration Hubs in Europe.
NFT and its partners will open a unique semi-industrial site and research center for textile recycling in November 2023. The pilot plant is the first to combine Pellenc ST’s automated sorting technologies with Andritz shredding lines to process large volumes of post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste, eliminating hard spots and converting them into industrial-grade fibers and raw material for new ones Process recycling technologies such as Reju. NFT also supplies secondary raw materials to various industries, including nonwovens, insulation, composites, plastics and other textiles.
Patrik Frisk, CEO of Reju: “Reju and Nouvelles Fibers Textiles leverage innovation and collaboration to accelerate the transition to a circular textiles ecosystem. This valuable partnership demonstrates our shared commitment to solving the problem of textile waste and developing new ways to utilize the resources we have in local supply chains. With textile waste collection mandatory in the European Union from 2025*, it is imperative that we have scalable systems and partnerships in place to process the collected waste and divert it from landfills or incinerators. Together, Reju and NFT are building the technology and infrastructure to regenerate and reuse materials across industries and transform the way we use our resources.”
Eric Boël and Etienne Wiroth, co-directors of Nouvelles Fibers Textiles: “After 6 years of research and collaboration, Nouvelles Fibers Textiles is now ready to work with professionals who need to recycle their textiles. We have an innovative turnkey solution that converts heterogeneous waste textile streams into high-quality homogeneous raw materials while ensuring their traceability. Our partnership with Reju is paving the way for the perm industry: a more circular, more local, less carbon-intensive and more collaborative industry – essentially an industry that does good!”
*Read more about the European Union Waste Framework Directive (WFD) here.
About Reju Reju is a material recycling company focused on developing innovative solutions for recycling polyester textiles and PET waste. Reju, owned by Technip Energies and leveraging technology derived from IBM research, aims to create a global textile recycling ecosystem that addresses PET plastic in textiles. For more information, see https://www.reju.com/.
About NFT Tissages de Charlieu Groupe and Synergies TLC have joined forces to create Nouvelles Fibers Textiles: the first industrial infrastructure to use ANDRITZ automatic sorting and textile recycling solutions and Pellenc ST sorting technologies. It is capable of automatically sorting clothes by composition and color and can also remove hard spots and pre-frayed garments. At the end of the line, Nouvelles Fibers Textiles produces a secondary raw material intended for industries that use textile fibers (e.g., shredding/spinning, nonwovens, composites, etc.). Together with our partners ANDRITZ and Pellenc ST and all our customers, we carry out real production and applied industrial research to address the challenges of valorization and supply chain sustainability. Nouvelles Fibers Textiles is already laying the foundations of a second processing plant, planned for 2026, which will have an annual capacity of 20 to 30 thousand tons of post-consumer textiles and will create about thirty direct jobs.
The creation of Nouvelles Fibers Textiles is a major step forward in reducing the carbon footprint of the textile sector. Automated sorting was the last missing piece of a French circular economy system, paving the way for a complete ecosystem that brings together brands, social and solidarity economy actors, collector-sorters and industrial players from different sectors, all united around the To serve consumers who seek greater traceability and meaning in their donations and purchases.
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**What are the expected benefits of the Reju and NFT partnership for the circular textile economy in France?**
**Interview with Patrik Frisk, CEO of Reju, and Eric Boël and Etienne Wiroth, co-directors of Nouvelles Fibers Textiles**
**Interviewer:** Thank you for joining us today, Patrik, Eric, and Etienne. Exciting news about your recent collaboration between Reju and Nouvelles Fibers Textiles (NFT). Can you explain how this partnership will contribute to a circular textile economy in France?
**Patrik Frisk:** Thank you for having us. Our collaboration with NFT is a significant step toward establishing a circular textile ecosystem. By sourcing used textiles and recycling them into high-quality materials, we aim to reduce textile waste and create sustainable solutions. This partnership will enable us to scale up the infrastructure needed to process both post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste, ultimately diverting it from landfills.
**Interviewer:** What unique technologies will be utilized in this recycling process?
**Eric Boël:** NFT utilizes advanced sorting and shredding technologies, combining Pellenc ST’s automated sorting systems with Andritz shredders. This allows us to efficiently process large volumes of textiles by sorting them according to composition and color, thus converting heterogeneous waste streams into high-quality raw materials. Our semi-industrial site, which opens this November, will be crucial for processing these materials.
**Interviewer:** Patrik, you mentioned that Reju aims to regenerate polyester textiles. How does the final product, Reju Polyester™, differ from traditional virgin polyester?
**Patrik Frisk:** Reju Polyester™ has a significantly lower carbon footprint—up to 50% less than virgin polyester—and can be regenerated infinitely without losing quality. This is essential for reducing reliance on fossil fuels and minimizing environmental impact. Our Regeneration Hub Zero in Frankfurt is the first step in establishing this process on a large scale, with plans for additional hubs across Europe.
**Interviewer:** What role does traceability play in your recycling process?
**Etienne Wiroth:** Traceability is vital to ensure sustainable practices. By guaranteeing 100% traceability of the recycled materials, we ensure that our resources are sourced responsibly and that our customers can trust the quality and origin of the recycled products. This transparency is crucial in building a more sustainable supply chain.
**Interviewer:** As we move toward a more circular model in industries like textiles, what challenges do you foresee, and how do you plan to address them?
**Patrik Frisk:** One of the main challenges is the scalability of recycling processes. With textile waste collection becoming mandatory in the EU by 2025, we must have efficient systems and partnerships like ours with NFT in place to manage the influx of materials effectively. Additionally, public awareness and engagement in recycling practices are essential to drive significant change.
**Interviewer:** Eric, Etienne, what message do you hope to send to other companies in the textile industry through your collaboration?
**Eric Boël:** Our collaboration represents a commitment to innovation and sustainability. We want others in the industry to see that by working together and leveraging technology, we can create efficient solutions to combat textile waste. We’re paving the way for an industry that supports local economies, reduces carbon footprints, and creates a circular economy.
**Interviewer:** Thank you, Patrik, Eric, and Etienne, for sharing your insights. It’s inspiring to see how your partnership is making strides toward a sustainable future in the textile industry.
**All:** Thank you for having us!
