The Alsico Group, global leader in high-performance protective workwear, is entering into a strategic partnership with recycling company Sixone. Together, they are developing a pioneering circular solution that turns discarded workwear into new raw materials. This makes Alsico the first major manufacturer in Europe to work on circular production on this scale within the workwear sector.
Circular approach gives new life to workwear
Within the partnership, worn workwear will be collected via Alsico's own ARX garment collector. These textiles are processed into high-quality polyester chips, which are used to make new fabrics. This creates a closed cycle: valuable raw materials are preserved and waste is prevented.
Vincent Siau (Alsico): "With Sixone, we are making the circular economy concrete. We extend the use of our high-quality fabrics, avoid the use of virgin fossil raw materials and contribute to a more sustainable future for our industry."
From textile waste to valuable raw material
Workwear often consists of polyester, a plastic normally made from a virgin fossil resource. By recycling used clothing into new polyester, Alsico avoids the need to extract new oil and keeps textiles out of the dustbin. It also gives clothing originally made from oil a new life as raw material for new fabrics.
In doing so, Sixone focuses specifically on clothing that has already been worn - so-called post-consumer textile waste - and processes it into high-quality raw materials. Thus, waste becomes a valuable resource again.
Smart recycling of complex fabrics
Recycling workwear is challenging, as fabrics often consist of multiple materials, colours and additives such as zips. Sixone solves this with smart technology that accurately analyses the composition of each fabric so that it can be recycled efficiently and cleanly. Even complicated textile blends can thus be reused for new clothes.
Chris Wai, CEO of Sixone: "A circular future requires partners who dare to challenge existing systems. Together with Alsico, we are setting a new standard in the workwear sector."
First recycling pilot successfully completed
The collaboration has now yielded its first success: a pilot with discarded workwear has been successfully completed. The obtained polyester chips have been processed into new fabrics, which are now being tested for quality and durability in harsh industrial conditions. After the test phase, alsico will start producing fully recycled and recyclable workwear based on Sixone's circular polyester.
