Protective workwear manufacturer Alsico has announced a ‘major technical breakthrough’ in circular workwear.
Alsico announced that, in collaboration with Stuff4Life and Coats, it has successfully recovered and reused retro-reflective glass beads from end-of-life hi-vis garments.
Stuff4Life’s patented polyester depolymerisation process, with technical validation from Teesside University, has now been shown to separate and preserve the glass beads from hi-vis safety strips during processing.
Alsico says laboratory analysis found that the recovered beads remain intact, spherical, and optically effective, retaining up to 80% of their reflectivity compared to new material.
Reflective strips have traditionally forced garments into incineration due to their tightly bonded composite construction, which Alsico says is one of the biggest barriers to recycling hi-vis clothing.
Through this approach, up to 100% of glass beads can be captured through filtration, and more than 75% of the total reflective strip material can be recovered by weight when reflective strips are manufactured on PET backing fabric.
Performance testing by Coats confirms the recovered beads meet the criteria required for reuse in new reflective tapes and materials.
Commenting on the announcement, Vincent Siau, Head of the Alsico Academy, said: “Recycling reflective strips has long been a critical challenge for hi-vis workwear. Until now, garments containing these materials were typically destined for incineration.”
“These results show that a closed-loop pathway is technically achievable and brings us closer to making circular hi-vis garments a reality.”
How viable is circular workwear?
John Twitchen FCIWM, Founder of Stuff4Life, exclusively told Circular Online: “We chose to focus on workwear and hi-vis PPE because of our roots in the waste, resources, minerals and construction industries, wearing kit that helps keep our colleagues safe, dry, warm and performing.”
“It’s incredibly difficult to recycle polyester-based composite garments that are built to last – much harder than cheap, simple fast fashion.”
“However, the organisations using this kit are motivated by carbon, circularity and other ESG commitments and targets, and also understand the value proposition of buying stuff that’s designed to last longer – the best way to reduce impact and keep on top of costs.”
“We call it ‘wear your commitment’, and our ability to recover and reuse the reflective beads is part of the evolution of better products, better outcomes and better service.”