Recycling of Textiles

摘要

There is a lot of talk, debate and action on the sustainability aspect of our textile industry, with most of the focus coming on the manufacturing and processing workflows. This makes perfect sense simply because a lot of the resources, be it natural in the form of water, energy etc., or industrial be it fibers, chemicals, etc., are consumed in this phase. Optimisation of processes to consume minimal water, energy and chemicals are increasingly being researched and implemented commercially by the entire value chain to help make for a more sustainable industry. This if, of course, a step in the right direction, and high time that it was done (though the cynics might still argue that it is too little, too late). However, this addresses only one part of the entire life-cycle of textiles and garments, being the input side of the pipeline.