Towards circularity

Considering what happens at the end of a textile’s life is a vital aspect of managing the full lifecycle of our product. Over the past few years we have been carefully researching the pioneering new methods of recycling used textiles and textile waste. New manufacturing innovations make it possible to turn used and waste fabric into new fibres and, in turn, desirable, functional and successful new textiles. These evolutions are significant. It means that, for the first time, our waste textile can be recycled into an equally useful, new, textile material.

Kvadrat intends to be at the forefront of these waste textile innovations, and in 2017 we launched REALLY as a response to the urgent global issue of waste. Really upcycles end-of-life textiles to create materials that challenge the design and architecture industries to rethink their use of resources. This is a first step on the circular journey; taking a readily available waste stream – in this case end-of-life textile – and redefining its use, transforming it into a new raw material and inviting designers to turn it into something interesting.