USING RFID DATA TO SUPPORT TEXTILE IDENTIFICATION, SORTING AND LIFECYCLE VISIBILITY.
Textile recycling companies need to identify, sort and manage large volumes of used textile items with increasing accuracy. As textile circularity becomes more important, item-level data can support better decisions about reuse, recovery, sorting and end-of-life processes.
RFID can help textile recycling companies access useful information about textile identity, origin, use history or category, when this data is available through the RFID system and connected software environment.
By improving visibility over textile items, RFID can support more efficient sorting, better material flow control and stronger lifecycle traceability. It can also help connect recycling activities with upstream textile producers, laundries, rental companies and end users.
Datamars Textile ID provides RFID tags and textile identification expertise designed for industrial laundry and reusable textile environments, helping companies build more traceable textile flows from production and use through to end-of-life.
FROM RESEARCH TO PRACTICE: RFID AND CIRCULAR WORKWEAR.
Transitioning workwear from a linear to a circular lifecycle requires more than good intentions. It requires data. Reliable, item-level data that flows across the entire value chain, from manufacturer to laundry, from user to sorter to recycler.
To explore what this transition looks like in practice, Datamars Textile ID participated in a two-year research initiative run by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Switzerland). The project examined how RFID-enabled traceability can support circular workwear systems, and what technology architecture is needed to make them work at scale.
As the only partner with working knowledge of the full value chain, Datamars contributed LaundryChip™ tags, reading systems, software and consulting expertise. Key outcomes include 49 recommendations for circular resource flows, a Circular Workwear Indicator Tool, and four textile prototypes for the nursing sector containing up to 39% recycled content. Several findings have already been integrated into the Twinify platform.
Download the Research Summary.
View the full project on the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts website.
Datamars | Textile ID 