Australian company offers the world a S.O.F.T. option for problem textiles.

The next stop on our quest to identify and celebrate Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is at another exciting young recycling enterprise with a world-first method addressing an enduring issue.

Brent Balinski speaks to BlockTexx co-founder Graham Ross.

BlockTexx today announced it has successfully closed its Series B funding round to scale its world-leading blended textile resource recovery technology.

BlockTexx is on an urgent mission to divert textile and clothing waste from landfill by re-manufacturing textile waste back into the world's new products; Fibre to fibre (clothing the world), fibre to product (protecting the world), fibre to agriculture (greening the world).

Australia is one of the highest consumers of textiles in the world, and our product stewardship schemes are voluntary -- so what needs to change to incentivise growth within the clothing recycling market?

Guest: Adrian Jones, co-founder of textile recycling company Blocktexx

Two men united in their quest to tackle one of the planet’s greatest landfill issues - clothing waste - have founded Queensland-based textile recycling business BlockTexx.

Unwanted clothing, towels and sheets are being dropped off at a council popup in Sydney. It's a new recycling initiative. Events like this across Australia aim to reduce the 800,000 tons of textiles, including clothes that are discarded each year, 90% of it sent to landfill.

Logan, QLD-based clean technology startup BlockTexx has teamed up with a Brisbane social enterprise group to convert tonnes of its ‘decommissioned’ clothing into resources for the construction, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

Adrian Jones is the co-founder of Queensland-based chemical recycling company BlockTexx. Despite being what I think you would still call a start-up, they’ve already proved they can handle 85% of the typical textile fibre types, and are handling about 4000 tonnes of textiles this year.

Millions of old uniforms, medical scrubs and workwear will be diverted from landfill and repurposed into valuable new resources, thanks to a new partnership between BlockTexx and Workwear Group.

Company co-founder Graham Ross said after a search along the eastern seaboard for the right location, Queensland and Logan came out on top due to financial support on offer from both the state and local governments.

A Queensland recycling partnership will see shirts and sheets transformed into shrubs and greenery at major infrastructure projects around Australia. Textile waste start-up BlockTexx has partnered with environmental mitigation company Vital Chemical to use pure cellulose reclaimed from textiles in re-greening projects.

Textile-textile recycling is viewed as the Holy Grail where fashion is concerned. Being able to turn old clothing into new clothing would in theory enable the fashion industry to achieve its circularity objectives and, to a certain extent, continue with business as usual.

Could the answer to the world's textile waste problem be right here in Australia?

Former fashion industry insider Adrian Jones talks about the waste problems facing the fashion world; and the new technology that could fix it.

New Zealand’s Deane Apparel is partnering with Australian-based clean technology company Blocktexx, to create clothing that is 100 percent recyclable in Australia.

The company’s three properties in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast will donate old staff uniforms for repurposing into new materials.

A new business in Australia BlockTexx has began construction on what it says will be the world’s first textile recycling factory capable of sorting and recycling cotton and polyester fibre mixes on a large scale.

Australian start-up BlockTexx has begun work on what it claims will the the first textile recycling plant capable of separating and recycling blends of cotton and polyester fibres at scale.

A world-first commercial plant designed to turn fabric into raw materials will also address the vast amounts of fast fashion heading for landfill.

BlockTexx is now underway to build and commission its world-first, commercial-scale, textile resource recovery facility.

Australian fashion technology specialist BlockTexx has been awarded a grant worth more than AU$990,000 (US$766,000) by the country’s government as part of its Accelerating Commercialisation programme.

While it is imperative that the fashion industry increases its funding appetite, the time and opportunity has presented itself for investment to come from outside the fashion industry to realise the attractive returns on offer and deliver measurable impact.