How can we rethink garment disassembly processes to reduce textile waste?

One aspect of textile circularity is the disassembly and sorting of materials to extend their value in new applications.

As a member of the CISUTAC consortium, we took on the challenge of developing new processes and tools to aid the disassembly of particularly complex, mixed-component apparel: firefighter suits. With our disassembly station, we engineered a modular, semi-automated pipeline to facilitate the pre-recycling break down of used firefighter suits and help retrieve higher volumes of valuable materials such as aramid. By laying the technical groundwork for scaling disassembly operations with the EU's textile value chains, we hope to reinforce the path to a more circular economy.

CISUTAC is an European Union co-funded initiative that has made its mission the increased circularity of clothing and textiles.

Putting things into context.

Disassembly forms a crucial part of the larger process to recycle valuable materials from firefighter suits. In order to increase their technical and commercial value, it is imperative to maximize the fiber length of the recycled yarns. With this in mind, we set about developing a workstation that optimized the recovery of pure aramid cloth pieces that could then be mechanically processed into reusable fibers.

Constraining the challenge.

After studying the multi-layered firefighter jacket construction and lengthy disassembly processes, we identified two key points of improvement: The segmentation of the suit into smaller, workable pieces and the removal of the (currently) unrecycleable reflective strips.

The solution

Building on the pain-points identified in our research phase, we decided to develop an adaptable, semi-automated disassembly station that combines ergonomics with efficiency. Made up of two primary modules, we designed the station around an optimized workflow, starting with automatic weighing of the garments, and concluding with a seamless sorting and weighing of the recovered material.

A. The cutting unit.

After identifying the best contours along which to cut the garments, we then designed a custom, easy-to-use cutting machine. Mounted within the tabletop, the operator only has to position the garment along the defined segmentation lines and feed it through the machine, and within 4 minutes cutting is complete.

B. The application removal unit.

For the pieces of material that have reflective strips sewn onto them, we designed a machine that uses computer vision to recognize the location of the strips and automatically cut through their seams without damaging the fabric below. Once retrieved, the operator can use the table-mounted clamp and hand tools to remove the extraneous strips and place the salvaged material into the sorting bins below.

The disassembly station was able to achieve an output of 10 kilograms of aramid per hour, a substantial improvement over current manual methods, which typically recover 1-2 kilograms per hour. This represents a 500% increase.

As the demand for recycling post-consumer textile waste continues to grow, we see the units becoming increasingly valuable to stakeholders across the textile value chain – from recyclers to collectors and fashion brands looking to galvanize their recycling initiatives. To find out more about our other circular re-manufacturing offerings get in touch with us.