- credit to Matthew McCarty
The buzzwords “Circular Economy” have become quite popular online and on social media recently when talking about sustainability. The term itself is a blanket statement that covers all kinds of areas in sustainability, but in essence refers to the same “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra that has been used in the past to promote recycling. But this term plays an especially important role in the world of textile manufacturing, since so little of the 38 million tonnes of waste is reduced, reused, or recycled. In fact, despite massive PR campaigns that say the contrary, only approximately 1% of the clothing that is recycled is actually used to create new clothing. Pollution is a huge problem in the fashion and textile industry, this is undeniable, but it doesn’t have to be this way, and the fashion industry can also exist in a circular economy.
The most important innovation heading for the fashion industry is fully realising the potential for creating new from old. This is the goal of Phoenxt is not only to promote this trend of recycling textiles but to make it a permanent part of the textile industry. Operating as a business-to-business company, we seek to work both with fashion brands as well as local communities to collect textile waste, extract the fibres, and create new textiles that can be used to create new clothing. Together with our sister company, Vivify Textiles, we can produce and sell these new textiles while eradicating waste and leaving practically no carbon-footprint at all.
Working with both brands and communities, we can create a circular economy that produces no waste but new products, working to fully eliminate textile waste as a by-product of consumption. Through chemical recycling processes, fabrics can be reused without sacrificing fabric integrity. And Phoenxt has the technology to do just this. Working side-by-side our sister company, we can take the textile industry out of the model that produces unbelievable amounts of waste and bring about the circular economy into a fully realised and sustainable world.