Debrand, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is opening its first US facility in Columbus, Ohio.

This will enhance the company’s capacity to meet the increasing demand for scalable advanced waste textile sorting services, expanding a comprehensive textile circularity hub.

 Debrand’s new 32,000-square-foot facility has been designed to support brands in integrating sustainability and circularity models that align with impending regulatory compliance using futureproof sorting technology.

Tipping point

“The fashion industry is well beyond its tipping point with textile waste,” says Debrand CEO and co-founder Amelia Eleiter.  “The sheer volume of garments produced each year is becoming insurmountable and there simply aren’t enough regional solutions to address this issue at the scale required in North America.

“By expanding our footprint, we’re making the investments necessary to move the industry towards a more responsible future. Not only will this help us address our current challenges with pre and post-consumer waste, but we’re also futureproofing so that once new regulations pass and our clients are faced with new operational realities, we’re ready to support them in lockstep to create the most impactful systems of sustainability and circularity possible.”

With the emergence of the proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) bills in major US markets, the urgency for infrastructure investment to support the circular economy for textile waste has never been greater.

The new facility will aim to mirror the success of Debrand’s operation in Canada, housing a fusion of automated textile sorting technologies and equipment. This will empower scalable textile sorting, increasing capacity to meet the growing demands on Debrand’s next-life logistics services and solutions.

“We are thrilled that Debrand is opening a new facility in our hometown,” says Meghan McLane, director of product sustainability at Victoria’s Secret. “As our partner, Debrand has been instrumental in advancing our end-of-life garment programme. This is another step in building the infrastructure needed in North America to enable brands to move towards more circular models.”

Investment

In November 2022, Debrand received a strategic investment from WM, North America’s largest environmental solutions provider. It was the first investment made by WM in textile recycling. The new Debrand facility aligns the company with WM and its operations across North America.

With access to Ohio’s top-tier talent, markets, and resources, the new facility is poised to fuel an ongoing growth trajectory and success within the fashion and apparel sector. The company remains committed to providing consulting services, offering guidance on circular textile strategies that encompass technical knowledge, reuse and recycling expertise and next-life logistics. In the past 18 months, Debrand has diverted over 2,250 tons of textile waste from landfill.

“Debrand’s expansion is a promising evolution for advancing the fashion industry’s textile circularity within the North American market and the technologies – including digital product passports like EON’s Digital IDs – that are proving crucial to regulatory compliance in the EU,” says Natasha Franck, CEO and founder of EON. “Debrand’s expertise and insights were instrumental in shaping our own research for scaling circular systems. With such a deep understanding of textile waste management Debrand is providing critical contributions that will help North America develop practical and scalable solutions to unlock a circular fashion economy.”

www.debrand.ca