The clothes and textiles sold in Sweden is mostly manufactured in countries outside of the EU. The production requires large areas of land and vast amount of water. The environmental impact is big during the production phase in terms of water usage, chemicals and transports. In general, the consumption of new textile is increasing in Sweden, but so is also reused textil. In 2016 the consumption of textile in Sweden was nearly 14 kg per person and year, which equals the weight of 14 t-shirts, 5 pairs of jeans, 7 hoodies and 2 coats. At the same time 5 kg textile per person and year is thrown in the the household waste and nearly 60 % of the thrown textile is in good condition and could be used again. The amount of clothes given to charity organisations is almost 4 kg per person and year but 70 % of the collected textile is exported. The collection and recycling of non-reusable textiles in Sweden today is low. Current recycling techniques are mainly energy recovery through incineration. The reasons for this has to do with limitations in the sorting and collection of consumer textile waste or limitation of optional recycling processes. In fact, there is no large scale industrial process to recycle textile into new textile, which leads to an open loop system where input of new materials is required. But there are upcoming technologies that meets the challenges today. This project explores the dynamics of current ways of treating textile waste. Through learnings from existing system, in combination with new technologies, alternative ways of structuring processes of production, consumption, usages and disposal is proposed with the aim of establishing a new relationship to contemporary urban production.

Syftet med rapporten var att studera möjliga återvinningstekniker för Ragn-Sells. För detta användes litteratursökning och intervjuer. Återvinningstekniker som studerats är mekanisk bearbetning, mekanisk återvinning, kemisk återvinning och viskostillverkning. Flera underklasser till dessa metoder studerades också, liksom flera sätt att tillverka återvunna produkter. Rapporten nämner ett urval av återvinningstekniker och försöker inte nämna alla tillgängliga återvinningstekniker.Återvinningsteknikerna har sorterats enligt prioriteringen i EU:s återvinningsdirektiv (2008/98/EG). Alla utom en teknik var genomförbar enligt den kunskap och teknologi som existerar idag. Fyra återvinningstekniker är inte lagliga i EU.En stor majoritet av återvinningsmetoderna är tekniskt genomförbara idag. Uppgifter saknas om det är tekniskt möjligt att tillverka viskos av återvunna textila fibrer. Återvinningsmetoder som berör att gräva ned textila fibrer från konsument i marken är inte tillåtna enligt EU-lagstiftning. The recycling techniques studied were mechanical processing, mechanical recycling, chemical recycling and regenerated fiber spinning. There were several subclasses to these recycling methods, and several ways of making recycled products. The study mentions a selection of recycling techniques and does not intent to mention all available techniques. Technical ways of recycling textile have been studied by literature review and interviews. The recycling methods have been sorted by the priority list in EU Directive on Waste (2008/98/EG). All but one method was feasible with the knowledge and technology available today. All but four recycling methods are legal in Europe.A great majority of the recycling techniques were found feasible with the technology and knowledge available today. Data has not been found in the case of using recycled fibers as raw material for making regenerated fibers. Recycling techniques which interfere with burying recycled fibers from consumer applications in the ground were found illegal in the European Union. / Program: Textilingenjörsutbildningen

Supply chain management is found to be highly related to collaborations among stakeholders to create successful strategies for the supply chain. To leverage circularity in the textile and clothing industry, successful circular strategies that support the businesses in an economic and environmental manner are key. Through this research, the interconnection and communication between the relationships within the supply chain are found to be the most significant factor. In this qualitative study, the purpose of the research was to investigate how relationships and partnerships in the textile supply chain can affect and enable commercial scale for recycling of textiles-to-textiles. In-depth semi-structured interviews with six key stakeholders in the European textile industry. This study found that relationship characteristics such as trust, communication and strategic values through long-term relationships and key suppliers play an important role in realizing textile-to-textile recycling. Furthermore, findings confirm that the financial aspects are the most prominent condition for textile recycling to improve win-win partnership models to promote key operational conditions. With Europe having a leading position in the textile industry, the research study has geographically limited the empirical scope to solid focus on textile supply chain and business relationships in Italy to provide the study with accurate cluster accusation.

In this master thesis, the feasibility of Fenton-oxidation for the decolorization of reactive dyed cotton is investigated as a potentially environmental-friendly preparatory treatment for mechanical/chemical recycling. Raw, knitted cotton is dyed with a black and a blue dye, whereafter preliminary tests are performed to investigate the influence of increasing Fenton- solution concentrations and different iron-sources on the efficiency of the discoloration, without carrying out complete optimization of the process-parameters. Based on the preliminary test-results, Fenton-treatments of the reactive-dyed cotton are upscaled, with discoloration efficiencies of 62 and 73% (for the black- and blue-dyed cotton respectively). Thermal analysis (TGA, DSC and FTIR) and mechanical analysis (tensile tests and shredding of the fabric) of the upscaled treated samples are performed, and the results indicate no major alterations of the main cellulosic structure of the cotton fibers. However, besides the degradation of the dye-molecules, also some oxidation (and therefore damage) of the cellulose-chains of the cotton fibers occurs, leading to reduced mechanical properties. Although this facilitates the mechanical recycling process, it possibly also reduces the quality of the re-spun yarns. Nevertheless, the Fenton-oxidation in the context of decolorization of reactive-dyed cotton forms an interesting future research-topic with many opportunities and prospects for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of the recycling process, and therefor increasing the sustainability of the textile industry in general.

This  exploratory research  identifies  how  can  clothing companies  implement  textile recyclingtechnologies that help transition them to a sustainable circular economy business model, given the challenges of eco-innovation diffusion. The study is exploratory in nature, employs a literature review and a case study of Patagonia, the outdoor equipment and clothing company that pioneered the use of recycled fibers in the outdoor clothing industry and continues to have today several initiatives for diverting textile waste away from landfills.To implement textile recycling technologies, the company created the Worn Wear Program, the Common Threads Recycling Program and the possibility to return a worn-out garment to Patagonia’s distribution center by mail or from any store or local authorized dealer of Patagonia’s products. To make the recycling (or repurposing) of worn-out garments work, the company also established a repair department at its distribution center which receives all worn-out clothes sent for recycling or repurposing.

This thesis investigates the impact of yarn and fabric structure on the mechanical recyclability of textile structures. It focuses on variations in yarn twist and form (single or plied) as well as fabric type (woven or knitted) and their respective constructions. The study involved evaluating the mechanical recyclability of 21 cotton textile structures in different constructions, including woven and knitted fabrics, each made using one of the four yarns prepared for this study. The mechanical recyclability was evaluated based on the opening efficiency of the textile structures, together with the average mean fiber length and short fiber content post-tearing. According to the evaluation, a higher fraction of fibers sorted as open and longer fibers resulting from tearing indicated higher recyclability. Based on the evaluation, it was observed that the single yarns tended to be more favorable for mechanical recycling compared to plied yarns. In addition, the effect of the yarn plying twist was multifaceted, with lower yarn twists not necessarily benefiting recyclability. Testing was also conducted to characterize the yarn and fabric structures concerning properties such as count, strength, yarn twist, and thread density of the fabrics. It could be seen that it is of higher relevance to categories of fabric structures based on their density than their fabric type (weaved or knitted) in terms of recyclability. The denser fabric structures' recyclability was more dependent on their fabric construction, whereas, in less dense fabric structures, the yarn structure appeared to have a greater impact. Therefore, determining the interaction of the yarn and fabric structures is important to understand how variations in yarn and fabric structures impact the recyclability of textile structures.

En ökad textilkonsumtion har lett fram till en problematik kring miljöpåverkan på grund av den ökade mängden använda textilier som ska hanteras efter produkternas död. För att ta till vara på de dyrbara resurser som har använts för att skapa textila produkter, har intresset för återvinning av textila fibrer ökat. Forskningen inom återvinning av bomullsfibrer har däremot inte kommit tillräckligt långt för att produktion av återvunna fibrer av hög kvalité ska kunna göras storskalig. Detta speciellt eftersom problem med exempelvis blandfibrer och separerbarhet försvårar arbetet. Det finns förändringar som kan göras av modeföretag i produktutvecklingsfasen redan idag, vilka kan underlätta återvinningsprocessen och syftar till att skapa ett slutet system i framtiden. Därför finns det ett behov av att identifiera vilka interna problem som kan hindra en produktutveckling av återvinningsbara plagg, samt vilka förändringar som kan behöva ske av ett modeföretags externa relationer för att kunna införa denna produktutveckling. Genom djupintervjuer som utfördes med sju anställda vid fallföretaget Lindexs design- och inköpsavdelning har det klargjorts hur företagets nuvarande arbetsprocesser ser ut, samt vilka hinder som finns och vilka förändringar som behövs inom produktutvecklingen för att underlätta återvinningen. Detta gjordes genom att olika produktgrupper studerades utifrån tre utvalda scenarion som alla skulle underlätta återvinningen av plaggen. Resultatet visade att det finns tillräckliga resurser för att många anpassningar skulle kunna ske redan idag, dock inte i någon större utsträckning på grund av begränsningar inom designen. Ett stort hinder är det bristfälliga kommunikationsflödet, internt inom fallföretaget och externt mellan huvudkontor och leverantörer. Viktiga resurser som har identifierats och som underlättar införandet av förändringar är däremot en drivkraftig leverantörsbas och de långsiktiga relationerna till leverantörerna. Ett begränsat synfält av företagets nätverk har dessutom identifierats hos design- och inköpsavdelningen vid fallföretaget. Slutsatsen är därför att detta skulle behöva vidgas för att implementera förändringar. Även kommunikationsflödet bör nyttjas fullt ut för att de anställda ska kunna arbeta mot uppsatta mål, vilket ställer krav på ledningen att arbeta fram riktlinjer för hur en produktutveckling för återvinningsbara plagg ska genomföras. För att vissa förändringar i riktning mot återvinningsbara plagg ska kunna genomföras, krävs dessutom att modeföretag samarbetar för att driva frågan.Trots att återvinningsbara plagg är möjliga att producera i dagsläget, krävs fortfarande vidare studier angående hur detta är tekniskt möjligt i storskalig produktion, samt hur kvalitetsproblemen förknippade med återvunna fibrer ska hanteras. / An increase in the consumption of textiles has created a greater environmental impact due to the increased amount of textiles that need to be processed when the product reaches end of life. To ensure the continued use of the precious resources used to create textiles the interest in fiber recycling has increased. The research in recycling cotton fibers is however limited and does not yet allow for production of high quality fibers in a large scale, especially due to the problem with separating material with more than one fiber type. There are changes that fashion companies can make today in the product development stage that will facilitate the recycling process and lead to the implementation of a closed loop system in the future. There is a need to identify the internal problems that can prevent development of recyclable clothing, as well as the changes necessary in a fashion company's external relationships to implement this type of product development. In depth interviews were conducted with seven employees working in the design and purchasing department of the case study Lindex. Through the interviews the employees clarified how the design and purchasing processes in the company are now as well as what barriers and changes may be necessary for product development of recyclable clothing. Three different product groups were studied through scenarios that would facilitate recycling of clothing. The results of the study shows that the company has the resources to implement many of these changes today, however not to a large extent throughout the collections due to design limitations. A large barrier is the inadequate communications flow internally in the case company and externally between the head office and suppliers. Important resources that have been identified in the study that will ease the implementation of changes are however a driven supplier network and the long term relationships to these suppliers. A limited view of the company's network has also been identified within the design and purchasing department of the case company. In conclusion this would need to be widened to allow for implementation of changes. Even the communications flow should be fully utilised to allow the employees to work towards the companys goals, which places demands on management to define guidelines for product development of recyclable clothing. To be able to implement certain changes that would allow for production of recyclable products, a collaboration between fashion companies would be required. Despite the fact that recyclable garments are possible to produce today, further research is needed to develop the technology to produce garments from recycled fibers in a large scale, as well as to address the quality problems associated with recycled fibers. The language of this report is Swedish.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of technologies for traceability within the Swedish textile recycling industry. This study further aims to investigate the status of information collection and management in the textile recycling industry and the factors which are affecting the implementation of different traceability technologies, such as blockchain technology.   Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This study followed a qualitative exploratory approach as there is little prior knowledge regarding usage of traceability technologies, such as blockchain technology in the Swedish textile recycling industry. Primary data was collected by semi-structured interviews, and it was analysed through thematic analysis. Purposive sampling was used to collect relevant data. The sample included experts from the academia and industry, who have knowledge in the field of textile recycling and traceability technologies.   Findings: The findings suggest that there is no available information collection and management systems that enable efficient recycling processes. Moreover, there is a lack of infrastructure for collecting and sorting the textile waste, cost and technological challenges hampering the potential of efficient textile recycling and the possibility to create an efficient circular supply chain in Sweden. There are four factors which affect the opportunities and challenges for implementation of traceability technologies, such as blockchain technology, these are: management and decision making, integration and collaboration, rules and regulations and value creation through blockchain in the textile recycling industry.   Implications: This study may contribute to reshaping the traditional view on where traceability technologies can be implemented to create efforts to enhance the circular economy principles, as suggested by literature from the previous stages in a supply chain. This study suggests that blockchain technology may enhance information sharing in a circular supply chain within the textile recycling industry. It further shows that the textile recyclers have the potential to implement blockchain technology from their stage to minimise the information gaps which are currently existing.   Originality/ Value: The academic literature lacks practical cases and exploration regarding the usage of traceability technologies such as blockchain technology at the textile recycling stage and this study tries to explore if it would be beneficial for the textile recycling industry in Sweden.

Goal number 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN)emphasises on how the increase in the world population is hampering the achievement ofenvironmental sustainability. The diminishing resources of nature draw attention to the factthat more innovative methods need to salvage the environment and the planet at large.Textiles or clothing are one of the essential things that every human owns and with a globalpopulation of over 7 billion, there is an urgency to find ways to reduce its production, due tothe number of resources used and the amount of emissions the textile/clothing industryproduces.The Swedish Red Cross is a charitable organisation that deals with second-hand clothing toraise profits for its activities while contributing to environmental sustainability. Their secondhandretail shops give customers value for their money while extending the lifecycle of clothes.Due to their non-profitable nature puts much pressure on their finances. The need for revenuecalls for finding more environmentally sustainable ways of making a profit out of the clothesthey receive while evaluating the transportation options to reduce cost.Literature review and route optimisation in ArcGIS are used in the analysis. Driving timeanalysis is carried out to link stores to the closest depots to provide graphical and efficientmeans of reaching all the stores. The review of literature offers insights for environmentallysustainable ways of making a profit from second-hand clothes.The outcome provides results which will help generate more profit as well as cut down themajor contributor to the high transportation cost by more than 50%. Moreover, a suggestion ismade for a new time frame and a new travel mode to improve the coordination between thestores and the depots

Textilindustrin står inför nya utmaningar till följd av den ökande globala textilkonsumtionenoch den ökande avfallsmängden. På grund av bomullens resursintensiva och miljöfarligaproduktion ökar förväntningarna att kunna möta framtidens textilefterfrågan med mindreresursintensiva och mer miljövänliga alternativ. Idag saknar vi en storskalig svensktextilåtervinning och det ökade textilavfallet kan samtidigt hanteras med hjälp av cirkulärekonomi. Genom en uppskalning av en kemisk återvinningsprocess utan stora materialförlusterkan hållbarare alternativ till bomull erhållas samtidigt som textilavfallet hanteras på ett effektivtsätt. Återvinningsprocessen omvandlar bomull till dissolvingmassa (en typ av textilmassa) förviskosproduktion. Därför undersöker vi i detta projekt vilka problem som finns och anger vårarekommendationer för att kunna realisera en sådan textilåtervinning för svenska textilflöden påen större skala, sett ur ett resurseffektivitets- och miljöperspektiv.Vi har genomfört ett kvalitativt projekt med stor vikt på litteratur. Kompletterande intervjuerhar genomförts för att identifiera och kartlägga olika steg i återvinningscykeln. Dessutom hartextilindustrins utveckling analyserats. Utifrån analysen har slutsatser dragits om hur framtidenssituation kan bli för cellulosabaserade textilier. Insamling, sortering, mekanisk och kemiskåtervinning har identifierats som huvudkomponenter och vår slutsats är att dessa behöverutvecklas gemensamt för en fungerande, resurseffektiv och miljövänlig textilåtervinning. Dettagörs för att undvika olika flaskhalsar i återvinningscykeln. Därmed kan en cirkulär ekonomiuppnås. Utifrån analysen konstateras att textilindustrin ändrar karaktär och blir allt merkemibaserad, likt ett bioraffinaderi, där man tar tillvara på alla restprodukter. / The textile industry is facing new challenges as a result of increasing global textile consumptionand the increasing volume of waste. Due to the resource-intensive and environmentallyhazardous production of cotton, expectations are increasing to meet future demand for textileproducts with less resource-intensive and more environmentally friendly alternatives. Todaywe lack a large-scale Swedish textile recycling and the increased amount of textile waste canbe handled by means of circular economy. By scaling up a chemical recycling process withoutmajor material losses more sustainable alternatives to cotton can be obtained while managingthe waste efficiently. The recycling process converts cotton into dissolving pulp (a type oftextile pulp) for viscose production. Thus, we will during this project investigate the problemsthat exist and give our recommendations to implement such a textile recycling for Swedishtextile flows on a larger scale, viewed from a resource efficiency and environmentalperspective.We have made a qualitative study with emphasis on literature studies. Additional interviewshave been conducted to identify and map out various steps in the recycling process. In addition,the development of the textile industry has been analyzed. Based on this analysis, conclusionshave been drawn about how the future situation may be for cellulose-based textiles. Collection,sorting, mechanical and chemical recycling have been identified as main components in therecycling process and our conclusion is that they need to be developed simultaneously for aresource efficient and environmentally friendly textile recycling. The purpose is to avoiddifferent bottlenecks in the recycling process. A circular economy could therefore be achieved.Based on our analysis, a conclusion can be drawn that the textile industry is changing itscharacter and is becoming more chemically intensive, similar to a biorefinery, where allresidues are used.