Upgrade on track to make 10 times more OnceMore®

Catrin Gustavsson, President of Södra Innovation, is delighted with the project’s progress to date. “We have successfully delivered a recycled textile content of 25 percent in OnceMore^®, but we are keen to reach our target of 50 percent recycled content and to process 25,000 tpy of textile waste by 2025. This investment is the next step in that direction.”

Södra is working with several suppliers in Europe to increase its supply of waste textiles, but Gustavsson stresses the importance of further cooperation if OnceMore^® is to make a real impact. “We are already working with commercial laundries, for example, but we need more. The response to OnceMore^® has been so positive from the brands and textile fibre buyers and everyone would like to see a more circular business model for the textile and fashion industry, but this is a long value chain. We are providing a sustainable, circular starting point with OnceMore^® as a raw material, but there is much to be done further along the supply chain to scale up. The collection and sorting of used textiles must become everyone’s responsibility. The mandated collection of used textiles and garments in the EU from 2025 will help, as would better labelling of garments to help consumers make more sustainable choices in the future.”

“The mill’s upgrade is an exciting next step. We can make a real contribution using the expertise and technology of our dissolving pulp team. We have the knowledge to handle and separate blended textiles and the equipment to scale up this pioneering product, but we need the raw material in the form of more used textiles to get there.”