Circularity | NIL Textile

Recycling Is Not The End, It Is a Beginning

Only 1% of textile waste is recycled into a new clothing. Our goal is to increase this number many times over.

Sometimes products with only one recycling loop are called circular, and textile recycling is often confused with downcycling. The world is mixed up but we wanted to make it right. We believe that the circularity is the only way how to develop truly sustainable products. Together with scientists from the Brno University of Technology and our technological partners, we have developed two ways of recycling our circular textiles – molecular and thermo mechanical recycling.

Molecular recycling

Molecular recycling is a true revolution in textile recycling. It consists of a breakdown of textile material into individual molecules, which are connected into a chain again. It’s like a Lego that we take into pieces and then put them back together. It sounds like future and sure is. The main advantage of molecular recycling is that all pigments, additives, and other impurities from the fabric can be separated and there is no loss of quality. The output of molecular recycling can be even a higher quality material than it was before recycling. Thanks to this revolutionary recycling process we can recycle all of our textiles infinitely.

Thermomechanical recycling

Specific products, such as industrial textiles or monochromatic products are suitable for thermomechanical recycling. How does thermomechanical recycling work? We melt the textiles and extend new fibres from the resulting mass. This form of recycling is the most energy efficient, but it is not possible to remove the colour from products and it cannot be done indefinitely. After several recycling loops, we need to recycle textiles in molecular form. Using mechanical recycling, we can recycle up to 98% of the weight of clothing. Some small losses are mainly caused by the capture of material on the walls of the recycling line.

How to return a product for recycling

The important part of circularity is an effective collection of used products. That’s something you need to help us with. Your customers can return products from our circular materials at one of our collection points – NIL Circular Points or we offer you custom return services. Do you need to collect from a distribution centre? Is it more convenient to collect at separate stores? Together we will find a solution for the return of used circular products for recycling and ensure its implementation.