Brightfiber Textiles plans to launch a new facility in Amsterdam next year. The goal of this raw materials factory is to produce circular, sustainable and full-color fiber and yarn collections. To approach this goal the textile recycling company recently received a grant of more than €1 million from the Dutch Ministry of I&W (Department of Circular Economy) for the purchase of a fiberizing line with a capacity of 2.5-3 million kg.
Part of the production process is that local post consumer material is fiberized by color, mixed with colorful industrial waste streams and sustainable materials. If necessary, it is dyed in a sustainable way. The end product will be fibers and yarns in different compositions. 
“We know from experience which sorting flows lead to high-quality raw materials, beautiful yarns and end products," said Ellen Mensink, co-founder, Brightfiber. The factory aims to bring this to an industrial scale, working with Dutch partner company Wieland and its ‘Fibersort’ machine that will sort and shred clothing into sustainable yarns of different colors and textures.
According to data provided by The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the moment, less than 1% of all brand collections consist of recycled material and 25% of recycled clothing is made largely from PET bottles, rather than old clothes. By recycling actual textiles to produce new textiles, Brightfiber's factory not only aims to create a fully circular process but also to save thousands of liters of water per item, as well as eliminating the need for polluting chemicals and dyes. Local production is also meant to reduce transport-related CO2 emissions. 
The factory fits within the Netherlands' ambition to be a frontrunner in circular textiles and has been part-financed by the Circular Economy department of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
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Part of the production process is that local post consumer material is fiberized by color, mixed with colorful industrial waste streams and sustainable materials. If necessary, it is dyed in a sustainable way. The end product will be fibers and yarns in different compositions.
Photo: Brightfiber Textiles
Raw materials for textile recycling
According to data provided by The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the moment, less than 1% of all brand collections consist of recycled material and 25% of recycled clothing is made largely from PET bottles, rather than old clothes. By recycling actual textiles to produce new textiles, Brightfiber's factory not only aims to create a fully circular process but also to save thousands of liters of water per item, as well as eliminating the need for polluting chemicals and dyes. Local production is also meant to reduce transport-related CO2 emissions.
Photo: Brightfiber Textiles
From textile waste to new garments
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