On February 5th, the Circular Textile Laboratory (CTL), part of the Research Group of Sustainable & Functional Textiles in Saxion University of Applied Sciences, was opened and proudly presented to the NETFAS community in a virtual tour.
The lab features fiber spinning, roving and yarn manufacturing equipment to mechanically and/or chemically treat regenerated cotton and blends from post-consumer textiles. Next to the pilot machines, a fully equipped analytical lab, weaving and knitting facilities are available to academic and commercial partners from the entire (circular) value chain, including textile collecting and sorting, mechanical and chemical recyclers and weaving mills. The CTL allows rapid prototyping and textile testing for post-consumer textile-based “waste” as a high potential raw material for closed-loop recycling.
Regional innovators in the once important textile “hub” of Twente in the East-Netherlands region, united in the TexPlus foundation, are working together to substantially improve PCR fibre textile quality, while reducing the GHG emissions. The European Committee of the Regions has awarded this collaboration as a “best practice” in the EU.
Sustainable textiles at Saxion >>
