Recycling clothes is complicated. Making fabrics new again isn’t the only challenge – threads, zippers and buttons that hold them together also need dealing with. With Resortecs, Regeneration BV makes disassembly easy, so that more clothes can be recycled at higher quality and in less time. Typically, a garment sent for recycling needs to be manually taken apart, so that its recyclable fabric can be isolated. It is a technical and economic bottleneck that withholds the industry of becoming circular. Resortecs addresses this challenge with clever alternatives that automate disassembly: 1. Smart Stitch™, heat-dissolvable threads melting at high temperatures (150-200°C), separating the fabric from labels, zippers and buttons. 2. Smart Rivet™, heat-dismountable rivets allowing for jeans and other garments to be easily dismantled. 3. Smart Disassembly™, industrial-scale ovens in which large amounts of garments can be automatically heated, disassembled and sorted prior to recycling.

The EU generates 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste per year, with only 22% currently collected for reuse or recycling—the rest often incinerated or landfilled. With mandating separate textile collection across the EU by 2025, the collected amount is expected to increase and we must upscale sorting and recycling capacity and efficiency to ensure sustainable recovery of the material. SORT4CIRC’s overall ambition is to improve value creation and cost efficiency through automated sorting and innovative recycling. This will generate new revenue streams for sorters and recyclers by turning non-re-wearable textiles into valuable feedstock for high-value recycling. The project will strive to unlock the current technological gaps for textile identification and value-chain traceability, while providing an overall sound business case driving circularity within the textile value chain (TVC). The use of modern digital technology in the sorting process will make it easier to achieve comprehensive information of the materials and fabrication process steps and integrate it to automated presorting and sorting for recycling processes. The different & complementary techonolgies are interlinked with each other with interoperable architecture to achieve complete traceability. Results generated are cross-checked to ensure reliability and consistency, to make decision over its optimal channel for reuse or recycling. SORT4CIRC gathers all relevant expertise to develop a systemic transformative solution enabling a traceable, circular textile industry: industrial collector and sorter, design for recycling by allowing disassembly, technology developers (machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), imaging, hyperspectral, NIR, multisensors), recyclers (chemical, thermo-mechanical and mechanical), along with specialists in supply chain traking and tracing, digital passports, blockchain technology and IoT, textile business models, trade and LCC/LCA.

Textile Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes represent a pivotal opportunity for the European Union to implement circular business models and solidify its position as a global sustainability leader within the textile industry. In the pursuit of this transformative goal, TRUSTex leverages invaluable insights from industrial partners and meticulous guidance from retail experts on the Stakeholder Board. The project's primary focus is to test strategies and formulate recommendations that analyze the feasibility of EPR schemes, pinpointing weaknesses, and proposing solutions. Based upon a robust governance foundation, TRUSTex adopts a holistic approach to cover the pivotal EPR activities; collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling. This multifaceted strategy is designed to identify barriers within these activities, showcasing innovations that directly improve the EU industry's capacity to manage textile waste. Additionally, TRUSTex includes upstream solutions that, while lying outside EPRs activities, have a direct influence on their feasibility. Consequently, the project integrates eco-design on new fibers and the incorporation of Design for Disassembly technologies. Additionally, TRUSTex will develop digital solutions aligned with forthcoming digital product passport and labeling regulations, to facilitate garment identification and traceability. Throughout the project, TRUSTex emphasizes continuous feedback and support from key stakeholders. This engagement ensures that recommendations not only maximize their impact but also align with the needs and secure compliance of industrial partners. In the final stages, a robust dissemination, communication, and exploitation strategy will reach society, consumers, and end-users increasing awareness about the benefits of adopting sustainable and circular business models. As a result, TRUSTex aspires to be a catalyst for positive societal impact, influencing health and livelihood practices across the continent.