Circ, the Danville, Virginia-based mixed textile recycling specialist, has established a strategic partnership with Acegreen Eco-Material, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Acelon Chemicals and Fiber Corporation, to manufacture filament lyocell for the fashion industry and further collaborate on research and development projects.

The partnership builds upon the commercial success that Circ and Acegreen have already achieved, as demonstrated in a recent product launch by Zara Woman.

As part of a shared, long-term commercial vision, Acegreen will continue manufacturing filament lyocell using Circ’s reclaimed cotton derived from polycotton textile waste. The formal partnership comes after several years of R&D collaboration, which recently transitioned to commercial-scale production. 

Circ’s technology is uniquely capable of separating and recovering mixed polymer streams – specifically any blend of polyester and cotton, which account for the majority of fabrics manufactured.

In addition, according to Canada-based non-profit Canopy, the fashion industry is responsible for harvesting 300 million trees annually for of manufacturing manmade cellulosic fibres (MMCF), including viscose and lyocell.

Using Circ’s patented process and integrated manufacturing approach, and other technologies currently using waste cotton feedstock, Canopy estimates that the entire MMCF market could transition using only 25% of the world’s wasted and discarded cotton and viscose fabrics.

“Acegreen is a strong manufacturing partner making the world’s highest quality filament lyocell,” said Circ CEO Peter Majeranowski. “With our recovered cotton, we’ve made the world’s first 50% recycled filament lyocell and released it in consumer products with our brand partners.”

 “The future for manmade cellulosic fibres like lyocell is in reclaimed cotton in place of tree pulp,” added Acegreen CEO Roger Chou. “Circ has the world’s leading solution for recovering tens of millions of tons of cotton currently going to landfill or incineration because it is trapped in blends with polyester. With our solutions and Acegreen’s long-standing history of technology research and development, we are looking forward to transforming the market.”

www.circ.earth

www.acegreen.com.tw