Polyester cotton is one of the least environmentally friendly fabric blends, but it is quite favored by fast fashion companies because of its low cost and durability. However, it is undeniable that the presence of polyester cotton accounts for half of global textile waste. Circ, a Virginia-based biofuel and textile recycling startup, is trying to tackle this. The reason is, Circ found a new solution where they reused materials from clothing waste.

Launching Fashion United (17/8), the process uses partly recycled materials and partly combines innovative science, such as water, pressure, and chemicals that can recover natural materials from man-made products.

Accordingly, launching Knowledge Hub, the process results in the recovery of 90% of the original material with intact fiber integrity. Furthermore, the breakdown of polyester into its monomers produces high-quality cotton cellulose, which can serve as a substitute for tree pulp that makes cellulose fibers such as lyocell, rayon or viscose, and modal.

Not only that, Circ also claims to be able to completely eliminate the demand for raw materials needed to make clothes by creating completely new clothes from the old ones.

So far, Circ has worked closely with companies such as Inditex and Patagonia, to recycle cotton, polyester and polycotton fabrics, in order to achieve specific product requirements by its clients.

Going forward, Circ plans to recycle 10 billion clothes by 2030. This figure represents 10 percent of the global apparel market and will save more than 100 million trees.