Amsterdam-based Fashion for Good’s Sorting for Circularity USA project, launched in January this year, is welcoming an expanded collaboration, with lululemon now involved as a seventh external brand partner.

New implementation partners include Helpsy, United Southern Waste Material and Goodwill Industries. Additionally, adidas has become the project’s lead sponsor.

The project will conduct an extensive consumer survey to map the journey of a garment from wardrobe to end of use, and present a comprehensive snapshot of the textile waste c generated in the United States. The insights gained from the 18-month project will help to scale collection, sorting and recycling innovations and inform decisions on necessary investments and actions.

Within its first six months, the project has expanded to cover six key states – California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Texas.

Additional implementation partners have also signed on to support the fibre composition data analysis.

Demonstrating the importance of pre-competitive collaboration in tackling the industry’s biggest challenges, lululemon joins Eastman, H&M and Nordstrom as key project partners, together with corporate partners adidas, Inditex, Levi Strauss and Target.

“We are so excited to have the opportunity to expand the geographical scope of our Sorting for Circularity framework to encompass an extensive range of key sorting players and regions in our USA project,” said Katrin Ley, Fashion for Good MD. “This will allows us to have a better understanding of the global textile waste challenge, unlock the potential of textile recycling technologies, and accelerate the transition towards a more circular and sustainable industry.”

In the USA, textile waste is the fastest-growing segment of the country’s waste stream, with 85% of discarded textiles ending up in landfills. Understanding the composition of material, volume and location of used textiles is crucial for capturing them and sorting them for the best and highest quality end use. In addition, the range of national and regional geographies within the Sorting for Circularity project series will enablesnuanced cross-country comparisons, revealing differences in the textile waste generated and the infrastructure required.

www.fashionforgood.com