Green Machine Garners Two International Innovation and Textile Awards

The fashion industry has faced the challenge of separating blended fibres in old garments and upcycling them into valuable materials. The Green Machine offers an effective solution to recycle cotton-PET blended textiles into useful materials and back into the supply chain again. It has garnered R&D 100 Awards 2022 and ITMF Awards 2022 in a quarter for its innovative approach to address the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

An Eco-friendly Treatment to Reduce Textile Wastes

The Green Machine uses only water, heat, and less than 15% biodegradable chemicals to separate cotton and PET blended garments. PET fibres can be used for re-spinning, while cotton is decomposed into cellulose powder as functional textile finishes, regenerated textile materials or water-retention agent for farming.

“Everything going through the hydrothermal process can be reused. The separated fibres are ready for re-spinning. The Green Machine has great potential to speed up the journey of sustainability and bring significant benefits to the textile industry and society as a whole,” declared Mr Edwin Keh, Chief Executive Officer of HKRITA.

The Green Machine is selected as one of the winners of R&D 100 Awards 2022 in the category of Process/Prototyping

Mr Edwin Keh (left), CEO of HKRITA, receives the certificate of ITMF Award 2022 (Sustainability and Innovation category) from Mr Juan Parés (right), Vice President of International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF)

The Green Machine separates and recovers cotton-PET blended garment into cellulosic powder (left) and PET fibres (middle)

The first industrial scale Green Machine in Asia is in operational in PT Kahatex

 

Collaboration Brings Efficient Commercialisation

Since its launch in 2016, the Green Machine has received a total of five awards for its innovation and technological advancement. In 2020, the first industrial scale Green Machine was installed in PT Kahatex, a textile manufacturer, in Asia with a daily processing capacity of 1.5 tonnes. The first licensing agreement was reached in 2021 with ISKO™, a renowned denim manufacturer. Such swift commercialisation progress of the Green Machine could not be achieved without the support of the Innovative and Technology Fund and the H&M Foundation.

Christiane Dolve, Strategy Lead Planet Positive at H&M Foundation, explained that, “the fashion and textile industry needs to move to a planet positive future where we not only aim to minimise negative impacts, but create an industry that gives back more than it takes. The Green Machine is a great example of an innovation that can disrupt the fashion and textile industry if scaled.”