Imagine if old clothes could be taken apart as easily as they were put together, like Lego bricks. This project creates a system to automatically sort fabrics and recycle them back into new threads without losing quality. It's like giving the fashion industry a giant, smart recycling bin that knows exactly how to handle every piece of fabric.
The textile industry struggles with inefficient sorting and the inability to disassemble garments, making high-quality recycling nearly impossible. This leads to massive waste and high carbon emissions.
Semi-automated workstations for dismantling and sorting, a digital product passport system, and an open data standard for industry-wide textile language.
If you are a clothing brand dealing with textile waste and sustainability targets — this project developed circular garments through fibre-to-fibre recycling and design for circularity that reduces environmental impact. This helps transition to a circular model for garments, active goods, and workwear.
If you are a sorting facility dealing with slow, manual fabric identification — this project developed digitally enhanced sorting operations and semi-automated workstations. This increases the efficiency of sorting for reuse and recycling.
If you are a social enterprise dealing with the high cost of manual garment dismantling — this project developed repair and disassembly pilots. This enables new business activities in the social economy sector.
The project aims to enable new business activities and markets with a total value of approximately €250 million. Based on available project data, specific implementation costs per unit are not provided.
Yes, the project focuses on polyester, cotton, and cellulosic fibres, which represent about 90% of textile materials. It uses 3 pilots to demonstrate feasibility for garments, active goods, and workwear.
Based on available project data, the project is developing an open data standard including a standardised industry language and data formats for collection.
The project develops a digital product passport to enhance transparency and circularity in the textile value chain.
The project runs from September 1, 2022, to September 30, 2026, with a focus on piloting before the final uptake phase.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with 18 industrial partners (58% ratio), including 7 SMEs. With 31 partners across 12 countries, the group combines technical research (5 partners) with operational expertise from 8 other organizations, ensuring that the developed tools for sorting and recycling are grounded in commercial reality rather than just academic theory.
Contact the Centre Scientifique et Technique de l'Industrie Textile Belge (CSTIB)
Contact us to connect with the CISUTAC consortium for pilot integration.
