Digitalization in the sorting process for garment recycling
Abstract
Textile recycling becomes increasingly important to address the sustainability transformation of the
garment sector. It holds the promise to reduce negative ecological impact by reducing waste
incineration, land use and resource extraction for new fibers for garments. Within the European Union,
an official directive requires all member states to collect textile waste – including worn garments – as a
separate waste stream starting in 2025. As the aim is to increase recycling and reduce incineration of
textile waste, research and technology development aims to improve the whole recycling processes.
One step to increase the economic feasibility of fiber recycling is improving the sorting process of
worn garments. Automation and digitalization technologies, such as near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy
for analyzing the raw material compositions, fiber markers, QR codes, and radio frequency
identification (RFID) chips to store information of raw materials and finishing agents are currently
discussed and analyzed. We tested the potential of an automated sorting process using NIRspectroscopy by sorting postconsumer garments according to their fiber compositions with a manual
NIR-spectroscopy device. The yield rate in terms of sorting to correct fiber composition categories
depends on the fiber composition library, which is built. We compared single-layer garments and multilayer garments, such as coats with linings and provide suggestions in terms of how to increase the yield
rate.
Keywords: Textile recycling, RFID, digitalization, near infrared spectroscopy, automated sorting,
circular textile
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