Real circular economy

Ortovox shows what textile-to-textile recycling really means

When we think of recycled fabrics, most of us probably picture PET bottles turned into fibres. That's definitely better than using virgin resources. But why not get textiles straight from textiles instead? At bike festa, ORTOVOX shows what a real circular economy looks like.

T2T: textile stays textile

We all know recycled polyester – and it's usually made from PET bottles. Textile-to-textile recycling (T2T) works differently: here, cutting scraps, production waste, and sorted-out old textiles are processed into new fibres. The result is 100% recycled textile – meaning the loop stays within the textile industry itself, and the piece can be recycled again and again.

Why it's complicated

Sounds simple, but it isn't: while PET bottles are made of a single material, most textiles are blended fabrics – with seams, buttons, zippers, coatings, etc. Sorting and processing are therefore labour-intensive and still largely done by hand, which is why only around 1% of old textiles worldwide are currently recycled. The mountain of textile waste just keeps growing: around 120 million tonnes of textiles end up in landfill every year.

Here's another plus: a real product you can touch

ORTOVOX has been working on this topic for years, has formed alliances with recyclers and researchers as part of the European Accelerating Circularity Project, and is now launching the RE:volution TS – a bike shirt made from 100% T2T recycled polyester.

Check out the RE:volution TS at the ORTOVOX booth in the Innovation Gallery, and let their team show you just how much development work goes into a single T2T shirt!