Accelerating Circularity's founder and president, Karla Magruder, highlighted that in 2024, through another grant from the Walmart Foundation, ACP will embark on Building Circular Systems through the application of the textile waste hierarchy, education, and engagement.
The new phase of trials will include the US, EU, and an expansion into other geographic regions.
She continued: "In 2023, Accelerating Circularity made considerable progress toward our mission to catalyse new circular supply chains and business models to turn used textiles into mainstream raw materials. We thank the Walmart Foundation, the steering committee, and trial members for their generous financial support and their commitment to facilitating the development of textile circular systems."
As part of the textile-to-textile recycling trial project in the US, Accelerating Circularity recycled 23 tons of post-consumer cotton and 100% post-industrial cotton each. While, through European trials it sorted 6.7 tons of post-consumer cotton.
Participating local Goodwill organisations are using the grant funding to learn to produce post-consumer textile feedstock that meets recyclers' specifications and to educate and train staff on sorting and feedstock preparation processes.
Sarah Coulter, director of operations and special projects for Accelerating Circularity, believes this initiative with Goodwill Industries is an example of the non-profit's unique role in creating new connections to mainstream the adoption of post-consumer textiles as raw materials.
Coulter said: "Accelerating Circularity has led the design and implementation of this program, providing subject matter expertise, program management, relationship building, and training and tools development at the participating Goodwill locations."
Accelerating Circularity emphasises this transformation is critical to the circular textile economy.
