Technology promises to divert textiles from landfills
Marie Donlon | June 28, 2021Teams from the materials science and manufacturing company Avery Dennison and textile waste recycling specialist Ambercycle have jointly developed an intelligent digital care label for clothing and other fabrics.
Designed to be attached to Ambercycle garments, the digital labels feature a QR code that links to an accompanying app, which, when scanned, offers details about how the garment was manufactured, its care instructions and its material composition — all of which influence what is done with the textiles at the end of their life.
Together, the digital label and app reportedly establish a chain of traceability and transparency across the supply chain, enabling companies like Ambercycle to convert end-of-life textile waste into new yarns for manufacturers or to otherwise reuse the fabric in lieu of landfilling such textiles.
“A key concern in this process is the upfront identification and sorting the different types of fabrics to inform the best end-of-life solutions,” said Shay Sethi, CEO of Ambercycle. “A digital care label is essential to embracing the broader vision for circularity, as it enables a more streamlined and scalable way for us to regenerate material.”