Textile Recycling Technologies, Colouring and Finishing Methods

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Textile Recycling Technologies, Colouring and Finishing Methods | Le 
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3.4.3 Current Recycling Markets and Applications 
Table 11: Wool - Mechanical Recycling Stakeholders 
Company 
Feedstock/Input, 
Requirements 
Product/Output 
Description or Process 
Cardato, Cardato 
Recycled 
Trademarks
116,117
 
(Prato, Italy) 
Post-industrial and 
post-consumer 
textile waste 
Recycled wool yarn 
“Cardato” brand (at 
least 60% of yarn or 
fabric using carding 
process) 
“Cardato Recycled” 
(at least 65% recycled 
material) 
“Cardato Regenerated 
CO
2
neutral” 
trademark certification 
system for companies 
Closed-loop mechanical 
recycling process (carding 
recycled waste fibre feedstock 
and virgin fibres). 
Under trademark, environmental 
impacts (water, energy, CO
2
consumption) from production 
cycle must be measured. 
ECOALF 
118
 
(Spain) 
Post-industrial 
textile waste 
Recycled wool yarn 
for ECOALF products. 
Closed-loop mechanical 
recycling process (carding 
recycled waste fibre feedstock 
and virgin fibres). 
Woolagain
119
 
(USA) 
Post-consumer 
textile waste 
Woolagain yarns with 
up to 80% recycled 
wool content. 
Yarns blended with 
acrylic or polyester. 
Closed-loop mechanical 
recycling process (carding 
recycled waste fibre feedstock 
and virgin fibres). 
31 colour shade offerings. 
Christian 
Fischbacher Co. 
AG 
120
 
(Switzerland) 
Post-industrial and 
post-consumer 
textile waste
BENU Recycled 
Wool.
Premium woven wool 
for upholstery fabrics 
that is blended with 
other post-consumer 
waste, PET bottles. 
No fibre dyeing required. 

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Textile Recycling Technologies, Colouring and Finishing Methods | Le 
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3.5 Recycling of Fibre Blends: Progress in Closed-Loop and Alternative Technologies 
At present, many blended fibre materials are generally suitable for open-loop recycling systems. 
Requirements for processes designed to recycle blended materials must be capable of handling 
lower grade materials, applying treatments to separate or selectively dissolve blended constituents, 
and removing impurities such as finishing chemicals and dyes. With ongoing developments in 
fibre-to-fibre recycling processes of prevalent textile materials, concurrent progress in closed-loop 
recycling of fibre blends will facilitate the transition to circular systems. Table 12 provides 
examples of current commercial, patented, or processes under development for recycling of fibre 
blends. 
Table 12: Recycling of Fibre Blends – Stakeholders and Processes in Development (*) 
Company 
Feedstock/Input, 
Requirements 
Product/Output 
Description or Process 
Leigh Fibers Inc. 
121,122
 
(USA) 
Post-industrial 
textile waste.
Wide range of 
materials accepted. 
Reprocessed fibres 
(i.e. shoddy) and 
nonwoven products for 
various applications 
(natural, synthetics, 
technical fibres), in 
addition to proprietary 
branded fibres. 
Mechanical processing and 
deconstruction methods (i.e. melt 
spinning).
SafeLeigh™: barrier fabrics and coarse 
yarns. Para- and meta-aramids, 
intrinsically fire-retardant fibres, treated 
recycled cottons and synthetics. 
123
QuietLeigh™: acoustic insulation 
primarily for automotive industry, 
meeting flame retardancy and sound 
deadening standards. 
123