Circular Systems has technology and processes that can turn food crop waste into sustainable and regenerative fashion. Agraloop is a regenerative system that uses plant-based chemistry and plant-based energy to upgrade the fibers while enriching local communities and creating a new economic system.
Raw materials for the Agraloop technology are low cost. They are derived from banana trunks, pineapple leaves, sugarcane bark, and the stems of oilseed hemp and flax plants. Circular Systems, based in the US, is a materials company. It sees an opportunity to convert 10 million tons of food waste into sustainable textiles and fashion.
Currently food crop waste is burnt or left to rot, releasing methane gas and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The Agraloop system helps to regenerate depleted soil and reduce air pollution, and the fibers it produces are safe and healthy to wear.
From a technological standpoint, the system is a closed-loop bio process that happens at the farm level using modular mini-mills. The mini-mills produce plant-based energy and chemistry from the same food waste. The fibers produced are fully recyclable, renewable and biodegradable.
Circular Systems is helping drive a paradigm shift back to natural fabrics. In 1960, 97 per cent of textile fibers came from plants and animals. Today, that has come down to 35 per cent, with natural fibers with petrochemicals leading the norm.
