Sustainable future at ExpoProtection 2022

Klopman and TDV to weave

The shared Klopman/TDV Industries exhibition area will promote a single message at the show in Paris – the need to recycle end-of-life garments in new fabric manufacture, and reduce waste in the textile industry.

Between 15-17th November the Porte de Versailles will see workwear leader Klopman and military-and-tactical clothing specialist TDV Industries attempt to tackle the textile industry’s environmental challenges by advocating the use of recycled garments into new high-performance textiles.
For the first time in France the companies, which have been part of the same group since 2016, will exhibit jointly, in Hall 1 (stands K32/K36) at the heart of ExpoProtection 2022. And while experts on both companies’ best-selling protectivewear solutions will be available, there is a main theme for the exhibit – the circular economy.

JoinTheFabricRevolution.com – #gocircular

The textile industry has the fourth biggest impact on the environment and climate change globally. Raw material use is the biggest component of that impact, along with the pesticides that virgin material requires. To counter this Klopman/TDV is investing heavily in technology that allows the difficult process of recycling end-of-life garments and integrating them into new textiles.

Recycling textiles – especially workwear textiles – is notoriously difficult, but the Klopman-TDV proposal is a ready-to-market solution. Thanks to the partnership with Renaissance Textiles, the first mechanical textile recycling in Europe is now ready for industrialization, with the Group willing to market fabrics made of fully recycled fiber.

The process

Garments enter the production line, are cut into small pieces, with buttons, zippers etc. all automatically removed. The fragments are then formed into a fibre, which is spun into a yarn, and ultimately a new high-performance fabric, ready to be transformed into a new garment. The entire circular process allows garments at the end of their first lifecycle to be transformed into new fabrics that are able to reenter the same markets where they came from.

With the concept now proven, the technology is ready for industrialization. As a consequence, Klopman and TDV will use ExpoProtection 2022 to introduce the new concept to the market. The overall process will need the commitment of the entire supply chain –from the collection of garments to a desire among customers for new fabric with a recycled component.
Garment recycling on an industrial scale

“Even in the workwear segment far too much clothing is thrown away at the end of its life, wasting resources and creating a massive pollution problem worldwide,” says Amaury Sartorius, Managing Director. “To counter this, we are investing in a circular business model, one where end-of-life garments are recycled and given a new life.

“Our project shows that closed-loop industrial textile recycling is possible with no loss of performance, and the concept is now ready for industrialization,” Sartorius continues. “We have the solution, so at ExpoProtection 2022 we will engage with customers to ensure that the circular concept is embraced by the industry.”

Amaury Sartorius, Managing Director.
As TDV and Klopman will champion at ExpoProtection 2022, when it comes to end-of-life workwear, the end is just a new beginning…