Digging for Diamonds: An
Analysis for Sorting
Reclaimed Textile Products
Jana M. Hawley, Ph.D.
University of Missouri
Three Types of Environments
Influencing Humans
Three Types of Environments
Influencing Humans
Natural
Human
Constructed
Human
Behavioral
Resources
Climate
Space/Time
Geography
Production
Consumption
Socio-cultural
systems
Relationships
Roles
Values
Attitudes
Affiliations
Environmental Issues
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Water
 Water quality
 Quantity of water
Air
Land
Population
Ozone
Fossil Fuels
Run-off
Pesticides
Waste Management
Recycling, recycle-ability, source reduction
“Recycled Duds”
Featured in North
Texan
Purpose
Environmental concerns
 Plethora of used “stuff”
 Recycling, recycle-ability, and source
reduction
 Systems understanding
 Profitability of the for-profit companies
 Consumer awareness
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Digging for Diamonds
What is Textile Recycling?
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Textile Recycling Defined:
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Pre-consumer Waste Defined:
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Pre-consumer and Post-consumer waste removed from
the waste stream and recycled back into the consumer
market
By-products from the fiber, textile, apparel, and cotton
industries
Post-consumer Waste Defined:
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Any type of garments or household article made of
some manufactured textile that the owner decides to
discard
Digging for Diamonds
Background Statistics
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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
The Textile Recycling
System
Micro-Macro Framework for the Textile Recycling Industry
Individual
Individual
Negotiation
with self
Negotiation
with Others
Textile Recycling
System Arbiters
Cultural
System
Arbiters
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Textile Recycling System
Constituents
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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
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
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The Pyramid
Garnetting
Clothing Sorts
Wipers
Shoddy
Digging for Diamonds
The Pyramid
Shoddy
Garnetting
Clothing Sorts
Wipers
Shoddy
Digging for Diamonds
The Pyramid
Wipers
Garnetting
Clothing Sorts
Wipers
Shoddy
Digging for Diamonds
The Pyramid
Clothing Sorts
Garnetting
Clothing Sorts
Wipers
Shoddy
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The Sorting Process
Collection
Pre-sorted Goods,
El Paso, TX
Sorted and warehouses goods,
El Paso, TX
Re-fashioned goods
Re-Denim, Dallas, TX
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Sorting in Italy
Carefully sorting goods, Prato, Italy
Folded goods ready
to be shipped, Prato,
Italy
The Pyramid
Garnetting
Garnetting
Clothing Sorts
Wipers
Shoddy
Digging for Diamonds
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.
Garnetting
Containerized
shipment of diamonds
Prato, Italy
Used sweaters ready to be
sorted
Garnetting
Bags of Labels—to be
made into shoddy
Sorting by color, fiber—and cutting out
labels
Prato, Italy
Sweaters sorted by fiber,
color, then baled and
waiting for next step
Prato, Italy
Loading into chopper
Prato, Italy
First stage of
chopping/garnetting
Each step of
garnetting uses finertoothed mesh
Fibrous State
A web of fiber
Fiber baled,
warehoused,
and ready for
order
The Pyramid
Diamonds
Garnetting
Clothing Sorts
Wipers
Shoddy
Digging for Diamonds
Digging for Diamonds
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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:
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Vintage shops
Designer Boutiques
Re-design studios (apparel)
Specialized fiber markets
Digging for Diamonds
Examples of Diamonds
Harley Davidson
Jackets
50s Bowling Shirts
LEvis
Ringer Ts
Boy Scouts
Americana
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
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Findings
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Nearly 100% of recovered textile waste is
recyclable
Serves a critical role in source reduction of preand 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
Implications & Conclusions
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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
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Legislative Issues
 Technological Advances
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Digging for Diamonds
How can we teach the importance of
textile recycling to students?
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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
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Ideas to implement into the
classroom
Make it fun..make it a fun(d) raiser :
Ideas to implement into the classroom
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Collect and sell used clothing
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Partner with a textile recycling company
Sell tickets to a recycled fashion show
produced by students
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