Giving a new life to used textiles

In collaboration with

When Danish laundry Textilia found itself throwing away an average of 1 tonne of textiles every day, textiles that for one reason or another had been discarded by their customers, it knew it had to act. It launched an upcycling program, Textilia Upcy, aiming to recycle 100% of those textiles by 2025, creating a circular loop that counters the environmentally harmful use-and-throw-away culture.

Through Textilia Upcy, a jacket is made from an apron from the restaurant industry and a waiter's shirt from a former sheet from a hotel. A discarded tablecloth becomes a chef's shirt and a discarded hospital quilt becomes a jacket. Each piece of clothing carries a unique story from its past life.

The programme relies on support from hotels, municipalities and the industry to be successful. From 2025, all Danish companies and public institutions will have to submit accounts for their CO2 consumption – and products made from 100% recycled textiles can help.

There is a large potential in recycling discarded textiles, but it is not without challenges. The range is determined by which materials are available, and not all textiles are suitable to reuse. In these cases, they are converted into yarn that can be woven into new goods, or downcycled into table and acoustic panels.