Helping save the earth, one discarded furniture panel or office chair at a time.
There’s a world of difference between things that can be recycled and ones that actually are – and our world sorely needs more of the later. That’s why True Textiles launched ReSKU, our reclamation program that’s capturing Terratex® fabrics at the end of their service life and turning them into other commercially viable products instead of filling up more landfills.
Up-, down- and recycling
Technically speaking, recycling means turning materials into new products of equal economic value; downcycling=lesser value and upcycling=greater value. While downcycling materials beats filling up more landfills, it still doesn’t really “close the loop.” True Textiles is committed to developing closed-loop options for both process scrap and end-of-first-life textiles. Our ReSKU reclamation is doing just that.
ReSKU step by step
To make recycling and upcycling work on a large scale is really quite a process. We start by identifying high-value product opportunities for recycled waste – because when valuable things can be made from junk, it greatly increases the incentive to do so. Then we expand the infrastructure needed to efficiently capture waste materials and return them to the supply chain. Finally, in some cases we actually manufacture the new products.
ReSKU products
Already, we have commercialized several products made from our materials waste stream, including a polyurethane foam replacement for seating and other products for acoustical applications. And in the near future you can look to more high-value True products made from the fabric scraps that come from our plants.
Eco-nomics
To really make ReSKU work, we have to make it pay for itself, rather than passing on higher costs to our customers. Minimizing transportation costs associated with reclaiming used fabrics is a major way we’re doing that. We are establishing regional collection centers across the country, starting with True facilites in Michigan and North Carolina. By bundling large quantities of recycled fabrics and transporting them a limited distance to processing facilities, we can significantly drive down the costs.
Save your place
ReSKU is relatively new program for True – and one that we have big plans for. Come back to this page in the near future for a much broader look at how ReSKU will impact you.