"We are able to recover end-of-life products to recycle them and reintegrate them into the customer's future production ," says Antoine Saint-Pierre, associate director of Tissages de Charlieu , regarding the Nouvelles Fibres Textiles sorting plant.

Founded in 1902, Les Tissages de Charlieu, a Loire-based producer of creative and technical fabrics, has co-founded an automated sorting line for end-of-life clothing, called Nouvelles Fibres Textiles (New Textile Fibers), with clothing collection specialist Synergies TLC . Based in Amplepuis (Rhône-Alpes region) and operational since January 2024, the pilot plant directs textile waste to chemical, mechanical, or thermomechanical recycling channels, transforming it into raw materials for use in standard production processes. "By classifying this waste, we give it value while knowing which recycling stream to direct it to ," explains Antoine Saint-Pierre.

According to the director, this platform , "unique in the world, brings innovation to the circular textile economy in France and worldwide, and makes France a pioneering country in textile recycling."

Nouvelles Fibers Textiles plans to manage 100 tonnes of textile waste within 000 years

Although the processing capacity of this pilot plant is limited to 500 tonnes of waste per year, Nouvelles Fibres Textiles aims to launch a second automated line with an industrial capacity of 30,000 tonnes in 2025. "The objective is to manage 100,000 tonnes within 5 years, which could create up to 100,000 jobs in the region and a reduction of the French textile carbon footprint by 15%!" declares Antoine Saint-Pierre.

25% of end-of-life textiles are collected, sorted and recycled each year in France

According to the associate director, between 800 and one million tonnes of textiles are consumed per year in France, tonnes which are unused and stored at home, thrown away, burned or, at best, collected. “Today, around 25% of our end-of-life textiles are collected, manually sorted and recycled, the vast majority of which are sent and resold in Africa, India and Pakistan”, explains Antoine Saint-Pierre. The ambition of New Textile Fibers is to “represent around 20% of the collection and recycling of textiles in France in the next 3 or 4 years. »
Manual sorting removes disruptive factors to recycling, such as metal parts left in pockets, zips, buttons, etc. "There will be no automated sorting without good manual sorting, carried out by players in the social and solidarity economy. The two activities are linked and complementary," warns Antoine Saint-Pierre.

Cotton, polycotton and polyester are sorted by Nouvelles Fibers Textiles

“For now, our factory sorts cotton, polycotton (a fabric made from a blend of cotton and polyester), and polyester—which represents the vast majority of what we consume and find in our collections ,” explains Antoine Saint-Pierre. The sorting machines at Nouvelles Fibres Textiles don't detect all materials, but the company is working on it. “We're also in the development phase to refine the percentage of each composition ,” adds the manager.

According to Antoine Saint-Pierre, it is possible to recover almost 100% of a cotton garment. The advantage of Nouvelles Fibres Textiles is that they direct this material according to its composition. "We will direct quality cotton to make new textiles, while the lower quality cotton will go into building insulation, for the automotive industry, or undergo chemical cellulosic recycling" (isolating the cellulose to recover it in the form of cellulosic pulp, used to manufacture new artificial cellulosic fibers, editor's note).

Ready-to-wear, work clothes… varied customers and suppliers

“Our recycled materials are just as strong as the originals!” insists Antoine Saint-Pierre. Nouvelles Fibres Textiles is able to recover its own textile waste as well as that of its clients for reuse, whether for their own production or its own. The start-up works with various brands, recycling everything from ready-to-wear clothing to work uniforms.

“The SNCF Group entrusted us with their end-of-life workwear, which we recycled and then transformed into recycled textile materials.” For Nouvelles Fibres Textiles, sourcing from its clients allows them to explore with them the reuse of the textiles collected directly, whether for the same purpose or not. The startup also offers upcycling in the form of packaging, which has been very successful. “There isn’t a single textile waste product that isn’t upcycled ,” the entrepreneur proudly concludes.