Klopman International,  headquartered in Frosinone, Italy, is taking part in an ambitious circular economy project which aims to achieve significant energy savings while localising the supply chain for workwear fabrics in Europe – currently 85% dependent on non-European countries.

In partnership with fellow workwear companies Renaissance Textile and TDV Industries in France, Klopman is establishing agreements with clients to take back and recycle workwear at the end of its first life cycle. This will allow the production of new fabrics, made with an increasing amount of recycled fibre, which can be put back on the market.

A key part of the project is the advanced Andritz Laroche recycling technology which has been installed for Renaissance in Laval, France, where the garments will be grouped, sorted and then transformed into new raw materials.

Several targets have been set for 2024, the most significant of which are an expansion to three fabric tearing  lines and the aim to recycle up to 9,000 tons of fabric – the equivalent of 30 million garments – by 2024. This translates into an estimated saving of 430,000 tons of CO2 by 2026.

The aim is to produce a regenerated fabric with premium fibres with the same life cycle of a fabrics produced with virgin fibres.

“We are proud to be actively working with and supporting such an important project,” said Amaury Sartorius, managing director of Klopman. “This project has the enormous potential to make a real difference in our society by turning a problem into a huge opportunity. In the coming weeks our sales team will be working to reach out to those who have used clothes and textiles, so we can actively contribute to Renaissance Textile’s goals.”

Klopman has been a European leader in the production and marketing of technical fabrics for workwear for over 50 years, producing fabrics in over 170 styles and different colours. Advanced technologies and centralised process control, which monitors and simultaneously corrects 4,000 machine stitches, are just some of the advantages that make Klopman fabrics more resistant to wear, shrinkage and colour alteration.

With approximately 400 employees, Klopman has an annual production of about 40 million metres of fabric and a turnover of more than €135 million.

www.klopman.com