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"Maillot Infini": from old jerseys to new ones, textile-to-textile recycling featured in L'Équipe
Launched one year ago, the "Maillot Infini" (Infinite Jersey) project, led by Recyc'Elit in partnership with NOLT and funded by Refashion under its AMI Incorporation Matières Recyclées call for projects, has produced a sports jersey made from old jerseys. This achievement is now the subject of a full article in the French sports daily L'Équipe.
The goal of the project was simple to state but demanding to deliver: prove that an end-of-life sports jersey can become a new jersey again, in a closed loop.
A European value chain, step by step
- Collection: old sports jerseys and shorts were collected from several teams working with NOLT.
- Sorting and preparation: the composition of the garments was checked against Recyc'Elit's specifications, with the support of Tremplin. The feedstock was then prepared (removal of hard points, shredding).
- Chemical recycling: Recyc'Elit ran its process on its CASTTOR demonstrator to return to the polyester monomer.
- Repolymerisation: the monomer was sent to a European polymeriser, which turned it into recycled polyester pellets.
- Spinning and texturing: the pellets were spun and textured in Spain, at AITEX.
- Knitting: the yarn bobbins were knitted in Italy.
- Garment making: the resulting fabric was made into garments, including a sublimation step, giving birth to the "Maillot Infini".
Recognition from an iconic media outlet
We are delighted to see this project featured in a full article in L'Équipe. Many thanks to Alexis Danjon for his interest in our work.
New business models for sport
Beyond the technical demonstration, this collaboration between Recyc'Elit and NOLT shows that new business models are possible, especially with sports clubs, which are major consumers of textiles. Their used kits can become the raw material for their future ones.
Thank you to Refashion, NOLT, Tremplin, AITEX and all the partners who made this project possible.
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