1. Digging for Diamonds: An Analysis for Sorting Reclaimed Textile Products Jana M. Hawley, Ph.D. University of Missouri

2. Three Types of Environments Influencing Humans NaturalHuman Constructed Human Behavioral Resources Climate Space/Time Geography Production Consumption Socio-cultural systems Relationships Roles Values Attitudes Affiliations

3. Environmental Issues Water Water quality Quantity of water Air Land Population Ozone Fossil Fuels Run-off Pesticides Waste Management Recycling, recycle-ability, source reduction

5. Purpose Environmental concerns Plethora of used “stuff” Recycling, recycle-ability, and source reduction Systems understanding Profitability of the for-profit companies Consumer awareness Digging for Diamonds

6. What is Textile Recycling? Textile Recycling Defined: Pre-consumer and Post-consumer waste removed from the waste stream and recycled back into the consumer market Pre-consumer Waste Defined: By-products from the fiber, textile, apparel, and cotton industries Post-consumer Waste Defined: Any type of garments or household article made of some manufactured textile that the owner decides to discard Digging for Diamonds

7. Background Statistics Per capita, Americans consume 83.9 pounds of textile products per year The industry recycles 10 pounds per capita per year Over 4 million tons of post-consumer textiles enter the waste stream annually Textiles comprise 5% of total municipal solid waste Nearly 100% of post-consumer waste is recyclable Digging for Diamonds

8. The Textile Recycling System Micro-Macro Framework for the Textile Recycling Industry Individual Negotiation with self Individual Negotiation with Others Textile Recycling System Arbiters Cultural System Arbiters Digging for Diamonds

9. Textile Recycling System Constituents Consumers who dispose Charitable Organizations Thrift and Consignment Shops For-Profit Textile Recycling Companies Re-designers Legislators Environmentalists Apparel and textile manufacturers Textile Scientists Brokers

10. Clothing Disposal Options Grow your closets and houses to accommodate more Garage sales, consignment shops, flea markets Re-makes and re-fashions Your sister’s closet Charitable donations Municipalities

11. The Pyramid Shoddy Wipers Clothing Sorts Garnetting Digging for Diamonds

12. Shoddy Wipers Clothing Sorts Garnetting The Pyramid Shoddy

13. The Pyramid Wipers Digging for Diamonds Shoddy Wipers Clothing Sorts Garnetting

14. The Pyramid Clothing Sorts Digging for Diamonds Shoddy Wipers Clothing Sorts Garnetting

15. The Sorting Process Collection Exporting Reworking

16. Digging for Diamonds Pre-sorted Goods, El Paso, TX Sorted and warehouses goods, El Paso, TX Re-fashioned goods Re-Denim, Dallas, TX

17. Sorting in Italy Carefully sorting goods, Prato, Italy Folded goods ready to be shipped, Prato, Italy

19. The Pyramid Garnetting Shoddy Wipers Clothing Sorts Garnetting Digging for Diamonds

20. Garnetting: The process of recovering the fibers from hard twisted wastes, rags, clippings, etc….especially of wool. The object is to thoroughly break up the material and return it a fluffy, fibrous condition so it can be reused in blends, or in some cases alone. A garnett (the machine) is used for for this process.

21. Garnetting Containerized shipment of diamonds Prato, Italy Used sweaters ready to be sorted

22. Garnetting Sorting by color, fiber—and cutting out labels Prato, Italy Bags of Labels—to be made into shoddy

23. Sweaters sorted by fiber, color, then baled and waiting for next step Prato, Italy

24. Loading into chopper Prato, Italy First stage of chopping/garnetting

25. Each step of garnetting uses finer- toothed mesh Fibrous State

29. A web of fiber Fiber baled, warehoused, and ready for order

33. The Pyramid Diamonds Shoddy Wipers Clothing Sorts Garnetting Digging for Diamonds

34. Carefully sorted categories 1-2% of clothing sorts are considered diamonds Represents 15% of the revenues for most sorters and graders Most diamonds are exported to Japan or remain in the U.S. Markets: Vintage shops Designer Boutiques Re-design studios (apparel) Specialized fiber markets Digging for Diamonds

35. Examples of Diamonds Harley Davidson Jackets 50s Bowling Shirts LEvis Ringer Ts Boy Scouts Americana

36. Cool Stuff Recycled Duds--making old from new Eat your heart out--or the latest technology for recycled fiber waste Warm your house, warm your toes Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

37. Findings Nearly 100% of recovered textile waste is recyclable Serves a critical role in source reduction of pre- and post-consumer waste 2.5 billion pounds are sorted annually Value of sorted goods are inversely proportional to volume of sorted goods Managers of diamond divisions often have degrees in Fine Arts or are experts in Fashion Business Digging for Diamonds

38. Implications & Conclusions Consumers need to be made aware of … clothing disposal options 99% recycle-ability of post-consumer textiles various markets for recycled textiles growing concerns for the environment Legislative Issues Technological Advances Digging for Diamonds

39. We must instilling yet another facet of recycling behavior Stretch our behavior beyond cans, bottles, paper, and plastic Remember that it doesn’t necessarily stay in “clothing” form Help students recognize what the markets are for used clothing and textiles How can we teach the importance of textile recycling to students?

40. Ideas to implement into the classroom

41. Make it fun..make it a fun(d) raiser : Ideas to implement into the classroom Collect and sell used clothing Partner with a textile recycling company Sell tickets to a recycled fashion show produced by students

42. This presentation was made possible through the research of Jana M. Hawley, Ph.D. University of Missouri-Columbia Department of Textile and Apparel Management hawleyj@missouri.edu hawleyj@missouri.edu