Lycra Company introduces insulation made from textile waste

The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing innovative fiber and technology solutions for the textile and apparel industry, has launched THERMOLITE® EcoMade fiber made from 100% textile waste, which is now available for insulation applications. The new batting fiber is the latest environmentally-friendly innovation from one of the most well-known warming technology firms among consumers globally.

This new warming technology involves repurposing textile waste from cutting room floors that would otherwise be sent to a landfill or incinerated, and transforming it into high-performance fibers for insulation. After being gathered from garment producers, cloth scraps travel through four steps before becoming a final product: 1) Refining and depolymerization 2) chip production 3) fiber formation and 4) batting and insulation production.

Arnaud Ruffin, vice president, brands and retail at The LYCRA Company, said that their new novel textile waste fiber may be used in unique batting compositions to give great warming performance imbued with unparalleled sustainable features. At first, they’re offering the fiber in two insulation versions: thin-loft and mid-loft battings, both created with ≥ 85% of recycled fibers, including ≥ 50% THERMOLITE® made from recycled PET bottles and≥ 35% made from the new textile waste product.

Ruffin added that both batting options provide durability and exceptional levels of performance for the outdoor industry, as well as unrivaled environmental credentials, while warmth per unit weight and other insulation properties surpass the industry’s highest requirements.

The LYCRA Company is helping the industry deal with its textile waste problem while also offering a starting point for circularity by using textile waste as an input to manufacture commercial performance fibers.