Worn Again Launches Textile Recycling ‘Accelerator’ Plant to Scale Polycotton Recovery

Worn Again Technologies has started up a demonstration-scale “Accelerator” facility in Winterthur, Switzerland, aimed at advancing commercial deployment of its chemical recycling process designed to recover fibers from blended textile waste. The company said the plant represents the next step in scaling a technology that separates and regenerates polyester and cellulose from end-of-life fabrics, including difficult-to-recycle polycotton blends.

The facility is intended to validate both the technical performance and economic feasibility of the recycling system at a larger scale, bridging the gap between laboratory research and future commercial production. Company executives described the project as a milestone in efforts to develop circular supply chains for textiles, one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally.

The launch comes amid rising concern over textile waste and resource use in the fashion industry. Industry data cited by sustainability groups show that global textile production now exceeds 120 million metric tons annually, while less than 1 percent of garments are recycled back into new clothing fibers. Analysts say blended fabrics, particularly cotton-polyester mixtures common in everyday apparel, have historically been difficult to recycle because mechanical processes cannot easily separate the different materials.

Worn Again’s approach uses a proprietary multi-solvent chemical process to selectively extract polyester and cellulose components from discarded textiles. According to the company, the system also removes dyes and other additives, allowing purified materials to be regenerated into new fibers suitable for manufacturing. More than 95 percent of the solvents used in the process are recovered and reused, the firm said.

The Accelerator plant has been built in modular stages. The first module focuses on recovering spinnable polyester from waste textiles, including post-consumer polycotton garments sourced from Switzerland, the European Union and the United Kingdom. The resulting material, branded by the company as circular polyester, is expected to be supplied to industry partners for product testing and pilot manufacturing runs.

A second module, currently in detailed engineering, will target production of next-generation cellulosic fibers derived from the cotton component of blended fabrics. Observers say successful separation and recovery of both materials could significantly expand recycling options for blended textiles, which account for a large share of global clothing production.

Over the past several years, Worn Again has refined the process through laboratory research and pilot-scale trials. The company reported earlier breakthroughs in spinning fibers from recovered materials, an important step in demonstrating that recycled outputs can meet quality standards required by textile manufacturers.

The Accelerator facility is designed to allow brand partners and supply chain participants to test their own textile feedstocks and evaluate the process under real-world conditions. Company executives said data generated through these trials will inform the design and economics of the first full-scale commercial plant.

Industry analysts note that the fashion sector is under increasing pressure from regulators and brands to develop circular systems that reduce reliance on virgin fibers and cut waste. The European Union and several national governments are introducing extended producer responsibility schemes and recycling targets for textiles, measures that could accelerate demand for advanced recycling technologies.

Worn Again said it is building a network of strategic partners that will gain early access to the Accelerator’s outputs and testing platform. The company expects these collaborations to support future supply and offtake agreements tied to its planned commercial facility.

Observers caution that scaling textile-to-textile recycling technologies remains technically complex and capital intensive, but demonstration plants such as the Winterthur facility are widely viewed as a critical step toward industrial deployment.

Source: Worn Again

SUNSHINE Spotlight: Worn Again’s Swiss Accelerator plant marks a key move toward commercial-scale recycling of blended textiles, long considered one of fashion’s toughest circularity challenges.