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A CLIMATE TECH STARTUP — AND EARTHSHOT PRIZE FINALIST — DESIGNS NEW METHOD TO
REDUCE CLOTHING WASTE

By Ben Tracy

November 6, 2023 / 10:46 AM EST / CBS News

 * 
 * 
 * 

Earthshot Prize finalist recycles poly-cotton

Earthshot Prize finalist cracks code on recycling poly-cotton clothing 04:03

What generally happens when clothes go out of style is giving the fashion
industry a bad look. 

"The fashion and textile industry is one of the most wasteful industries in the
world," said Conor Hartman, chief operating officer of Circ, a climate tech
startup trying to refashion the clothing industry. "The world is producing more
than 100 million tons of textiles every 12 months. It's equivalent in weight to
a million Boeing 757s."   

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the fashion industry is
responsible for about 10% of annual planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions,
mainly through manufacturing and transportation of clothing. That's more than
the emissions of all international air travel and maritime shipping combined.
And The World Bank reports that, because of the growth of cheap, trendy clothing
called "fast fashion," those emissions are projected to increase by more than
50% by 2030. 



Some used clothing is exported to foreign countries, where it's piled up on the
western shores of Africa, or dumped in the deserts of Chile. "Most of it is
ending up in landfills or incineration," said Hartman. "There's a garbage truck
of fashion waste that is dumped every second of every day."

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the average piece of clothing in
the U.S. is now worn just seven times, and worldwide less than 1% of textile
waste gets recycled back into textiles.



That's because most of our clothes are a blend of cotton and polyester
(essentially plastic), making them nearly impossible to recycle. But at a pilot
facility in Danville, Virginia — once a bustling hub for textiles and tobacco —
the Circ team cracked the code, inventing a way to separate the two through a
chemical process.

"Our process, for lack of a better term, is a pressure cooker," said Hartman.
"It's a very fancy insta-pot."

The chemical reaction liquifies the polyester, while the cotton remains intact.
The liquid polyester is turned into plastic chips, and both materials can then
be used to make new clothes. 

Circ, an Earthshot Prize finalist, has found a solution to the clothing
industry's substantial environmental waste and pollution, by recycling the
plastic out of cotton-polyester clothes.  CBS News

Circ had first focused on turning tobacco leaves into biofuels, and then
repurposed that technology to figure out how to recycle poly-cotton clothing. 
"It took our scientific team a couple of weeks to put the pieces together," said
Hartman. "We released the very first consumer products that were derived from
poly-cotton waste. It was a four-piece collection that Zara designed."



Circ is also partnering with Patagonia, is backed by Bill Gates' Breakthrough
Energy Ventures, and has now attracted the attention of the future king of
England. Circ is a finalist for a $1.2 million Earthshot Prize — annual awards
presented by Prince William to solutions for the planet's most pressing
environmental problems.

Hartman said, "To get this level of recognition for a solution that we know is
going to be the future is really inspiring for us."

Circ plans to open their first industrial-scale factory by 2026, and replicate
them around the world, recycling billions of pieces of clothing.   

Hartman said his hope is to end clothes being dumped or incinerated:
"Absolutely, because we have all the clothes we need, to make all the clothes
we'll ever need."

The Earthshot Prizes will be handed out Tuesday at a ceremony in Singapore. The
event will be streamed live on YouTube.


PROTECTING THE PLANET: CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS & FEATURES

More
2023 "virtually certain" to be warmest year recorded, climate agency says
Hotter days may increase cheetah conflicts with other big cats, study says
North Greenland has lost 35% of its ice shelves, study says
Climate tech startup designs new method to reduce clothing waste
Why did Hurricane Otis get so strong, so fast?
More
   In:
 * Fashion
 * Climate Change
 * Recycling

Ben Tracy

Ben Tracy is a CBS News senior national and environmental correspondent based in
Los Angeles.

Twitter

First published on November 6, 2023 / 10:46 AM EST

© 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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