Goodwill® and Reju™ announced that, in collaboration with Waste Management (WM), they have aligned on initial plans to pursue a multi-year initiative to help advance textile recycling in North America. The organizations plan to develop a collaborative model for regional textile collection, sortation, reuse and recycling to divert more unwearable textile materials from the waste stream.
Goodwill, a workforce development network and secondhand retailer in North America with 154 local nonprofits across the U.S. and Canada, and WM plan to work together on pilots to collect, sort and grade discarded textiles for resale. A portion of the remaining textiles that are not suitable for resale will be provided to Reju, a materials regeneration company focused on creating innovative solutions for recycling polyester textiles and PET waste. These textiles will potentially be recycled and regenerated into new materials when Reju builds a facility in the U.S. The ultimate goal of the program is to establish a circular textile-to-textile system.
“With our 120-year legacy as a leader in circularity, Goodwill is positioning our local nonprofit enterprises at the forefront of creating systems for textile recycling and recovery. Goodwill is looking to become a preferred partner of brands, retailers, technology companies, equipment providers, and government and non-governmental organizations,” said Steve Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.
The planned project builds on the research conducted by Goodwill funded by the Walmart Foundation to assess fiber composition of unsold textiles and develop the skills and systems to transform unwearable textiles into recycling feedstock.
Owned by Technip Energies and relying on technology originating with IBM research, Reju is developing the infrastructure to take certain textile waste and regenerate it at scale, starting with polyester. The end product—Reju Polyester—is expected to have a 50% lower carbon footprint than virgin polyester and can be regenerated infinitely. In September, Reju opened its first demonstration plant, the Regeneration Hub Zero, in Frankfurt, Germany, which is expected to begin producing Reju PET in 2025.
“To tackle the challenges posed by discarded textiles, we need radical collaboration and cooperation, and through our potential project with Goodwill and WM, we are building the ecosystem to achieve textile circularity,” says Patrik Frisk, CEO of Reju. “Reuse is, and will continue to be the highest value and is essential to the circular economic model for the benefit of all. Yet, among the products that are not reused, less than 1% are recycled globally today. A textile-to-textile circular ecosystem can only be optimized when more textiles are diverted from the waste stream and into the recovery cycle. Goodwill and WM are looking to play a critical role in recovery through the collection and sorting of textiles in North America.”
Local Goodwill leaders across North America are working with Goodwill Industries International’s sustainability team to develop the potential project. The Goodwill steering committee consists of leaders from various Goodwill locations across the U.S. and Canada.
“Reuse remains the highest form of sustainability and circularity, and Goodwill prides itself on being the best steward of donated goods,” says Colleen Morrone, president and CEO of Goodwill of Delaware & Delaware County and chair of the Goodwill Sustainability Committee. “Now we are on an innovation journey to develop new ways to find the highest use for all of the items entrusted to our care.”
These initiatives are expected to continue to create jobs and additional revenue to fund Goodwill’s vital workforce programs and services. Revenue from the sale of donated goods stays in local communities to support job training, job placement and other essential services for community members who face obstacles to employment. Goodwill plans to recover the value in nonwearable textiles to continue support for its workforce development programs.
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