The Alliance of Textile Chemical Recyclers (ACTR) is a working group created by Accelerating Circularity, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating new supply chains and business models to turn textile waste into mainstream raw materials.
The ACTR aims to advance textile chemical recycling technology, share common definitions, and address policies in a collaborative way to maximize the elimination of textile waste to landfills and incineration.
Chemical recycling technology has many benefits, including quality more similar to virgin fiber and the ability to recycle multiple times.
The ACTR plans to provide the industry with information on how textile chemical recycling can offer solutions for diverting textile waste to landfill, enable textile to textile recycling versus incineration/landfill, provide sustainably sourced/circular materials, support brand/retailers/producers in achieving their CO2 reduction targets, and provide long term price stability and consistent supply of raw materials versus virgin.
Members of the ACTR include founding members Eastman, Lenzing, and The LYCRA Company, as well as key innovators Circ®, Sappi, Renewcell, Infinited fiber, Worn Again Technologies, Gr3n, CuRe Technology, and OnceMore® from Sodra.
As a first step, the ACTR is introducing a dictionary of common terms developed to educate the industry on the chemical recycling of textiles.
The ACTR is a welcome development for the textile industry, as it has the potential to accelerate the adoption of chemical recycling technology and help to create a more circular economy for textiles.
