A demonstration plant is to be built in Sweden that will recycle cotton into a new textile pulp that can then be used to produce new clothes.
re:newcell based in Stockholm has developed the technology that makes it possible to turn old jeans and t-shirts into a new pulp.
This pulp, known as dissolving pulp, can be used to make materials such as viscose or lyocell.
The technology has been in development since 2012 and now an €8 million (£6.3 million) investment is being made on the demonstration plant at an AkzoNobel facility in Kristinehamn, which is two hours from Stockholm.
re:newcell chairman Malcolm Norlin said: “We are very pleased to now be able to move forward and contribute to realising the dream of a sustainable textile industry.
“Kristinehamn is located in the paper province in Varmland and gives us access to great skills when it comes to resource-efficient mass production. We consider it very positive that we can operate from a first-class facility such as AkzoNobel in Kristinehamn.”
