Unifi targets textiles

Late last year, Greensboro, North Carolina-based Unifi announced the expansion of its Textile Takeback program, an initiative designed to collect pre- and postconsumer fabrics and transform them into the company’s Repreve recycled performance fiber.

Citing figures from www.Earth.org, Unifi says 92 million tons of textile waste—in the form of fabric production scrap and discarded products—end up in landfills every year, while more than 15 percent of fabric used in clothing production ends up on the cutting room floor.

Unifi CEO Eddie Ingle says the company has found success with Repreve, which accounted for 27 percent of its global sales in 2022. “We are seeing the demand from the brands and retailers to be part of that circular solution," he says.

Photo courtesy of Unifi

Unifi says Repreve has transformed more than 35 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber for new apparel, footwear, home goods and other consumer products. Through Textile Takeback, Unifi will help to reduce textile production waste by transforming this scrap into traceable raw materials, helping the fashion industry move toward zero waste.

Expanded scope

Initially piloted in 2011, Textile Takeback includes an expanded global footprint and product application scope.

Ingle says Unifi has been recycling production scrap from its customers, which include North Face, for more than 10 years. However, to participate in the program, companies had to purchase yarn from Unifi. “We are relaunching our Textile Takeback and not requiring you to take yarn if you give us fabric,” he says.

Ingle says that prior to the relaunch of Textile Takeback, Unifi realized there was limited awareness of the program. “Basically, what we’re saying to the world is, ‘If you can give us 100 percent polyester scrap or 100 percent polyester garments, we can take that back and regenerate it,’” he says. “We’re not requiring you to buy yarn. The only caveat is that it has to be 100 percent polyester.”

Unifi is recycling this material in Asia and in the U.S.

“In Asia, where all the garments are made, it’s going to be largely focused on Textile Takeback scraps—scrap from the cutting room floor," Ingle says. "In the U.S., it’s about how do we get enough supply of Textile Takeback garments that are 100 percent polyester.”

He adds that Unifi sees itself at the early stages of creating a new supply chain for this material.

“Part of the idea of marketing our Textile Takeback process is to get people to understand there is an end market for polyester textile waste,” Ingle says. “We are excited about the work that brands and retailers are doing around collection. Big companies can make big changes, and they are out there putting resources together.”

Collection is just the start

“The way we see it is collection, sortation and preparation are the key steps in giving us, Unifi, raw material for Textile Takeback," Ingle says. "We will be part of the collection where we can. We will be part of the sortation and prepping where we can.

“We’re excited about the energy that is being put in place to create supply chains made of 100 percent polyester, and we recognize that we are at the very early stages of that business process,” he adds.

Ingle refers to what people are calling a “bottle war,” adding, “I don’t actually think it is a war because war implies there is conflict. I think there is going to be a bottle transition. Bottles can be used as a main feedstock for recycled fiber [but] we believe that textiles will be a much bigger part of the supply for textiles.”

Ingle says collection is particularly difficult when it comes to textiles, which, unlike bottles, do not have established infrastructure. “[Collection is] difficult enough with bottles, and they are a monomaterial and they are clear," he adds, noting the biggest challenge with textiles is they often are not monomaterial, but blends of various fibers.

Most of the sorting of textiles is around the composition of the product rather than by color. Some of the learnings around bottle sortation have been applied to textile sorting, Ingle adds, and optical and infrared sorting equipment is being employed.

Given the variations in the feedstock Unifi is receiving through its Textile Takeback program, the company is producing a black Repreve yarn with the material, adding a black masterbatch colorant in the recycling process.

Ingle says Unifi is excited by the work Eastman Chemical Co. is doing to create chemical recycling options for textiles. “The great thing with chemical recycling is that you can deal with a lot more contaminants than you can with mechanical recycling," he says.

As chemical recycling is more widely deployed, Ingle says, Unifi “will probably be able to create a natural product. However, as of today and the company’s use of a mechanical recycling process, Repreve yarns, whether its staple fiber or filament fiber, produced from Textile Takeback material is black.”

Preparation is a key part of the process, Ingle says, and involves shredding and blending incoming material to achieve a consistent input. “Because textiles are not rigid, [shredding] is challenging," he adds. "I think the challenge that we have is making sure that we get the right blend. There is some know-how around the blending of textiles.”

While Ingle says variety is inherent in recycling, the more Unifi can homogenize the material, the more consistent the output. “That is part of the secret sauce," he says.

Transparency offered

Unifi seeks to provide transparency into the Repreve ecosystem, Ingle says, and one key to that is the company’s Fiber Print Technology.

“When we make Repreve, we add a tracer that allows us to follow … that product throughout its life cycle,” he says. “If somebody buys Repreve yarn and turns it into fabric and turns it into a product, we have the proprietary capability of saying, ‘Yes, that is Repreve.’ So, we can give transparency and traceability, which creates trust. We are doing the same with our Textile Takeback resin. The proprietary part is not just the tracer that we put in there, it is the whole ecosystem where we can certify if you send us your … actual T-shirt, we can certify that it is made from Repreve.”

Ingle adds, “That trust is really important for the big brands and retailers. That allows those brands and retailers with confidence to declare their sustainability story.”

The tracer is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved chemical fingerprint technology, he explains, that is introduced in the pelletizing process.

Ingle says Unifi is seeing “significant interest” in Asia with Textile Takeback because the supply is more readily available, but the company will not be declaring exact numbers recycled through the program for quite some time, he adds.

Following its initial announcement of the expanded program at the end of last year, Ingle says it has brought forward some new supply opportunities, such as working with potential brands such as Thread Up and Rent The Runway. Partnering with charities such as Goodwill also is on Unifi’s radar, he adds.

“Sustainability is really important,” Ingle says. “Consumers are looking for it more and more. They want to have real choices they can trust. That is where Repreve steps in. That’s where Unifi being a publicly traded company gives somebody confidence that it is backed by somebody who is putting their name at risk.”

The supply chain for production scrap and postconsumer textiles is beginning to develop, Ingle says, "and that’s what’s exciting us.”