WHAT?
Re4Circular is a platform that connects the entities of collecting and sorting used garments with the fashion companies/professionals that need them for their business of resale, recycling and upcycling.
The idea was born when we used to spend hours and hours carefully and manually collecting, cataloguing and sorting discarded garments, only to realise the reduced scalability of those processes.
WHY?
Each garment is different, has unique characteristics, suitable for specific uses and can consequently be recovered in various forms by following different recycling routes.
For example, a black 100% cotton shirt with a hole in the back cannot be resold as it is. However, the same item, since it is made of one material and one colour, can be recycled, regenerating the cotton yarn for the production of new garments. The same, if made of a cotton-acrylic blend, cannot be recycled, but if in perfect condition can be reused by someone else. The cases are many, as is the variety of garments.
The aim of Re4Circular is to help organisations in the sector to collect data and catalogue garments in a precise and automated way, directing each garment towards the best form of circular recovery.
What are the ways to save a textile waste?
Garment reuse
For those garments in perfect condition and of good material that can be resold in second-hand or vintage clothing shops.
Mechanical or chemical recycling
For those garments consisting of 100% of a single material and colour from which new yarns and regenerated fabrics can be created.
Upcycling or refashioning
For garments of good material, but with defects preventing resale, which can be reworked with tailoring activities.
Padding and insulation
For those garments in very poor condition and with mixed composition, therefore not resalable and not recyclable, but usable in many fields of construction.
HOW?