Textile-to-Textile Recycling

What is Looptworks?

Looptworks is a Gresham, Oregon-based certified B Corp textile circularity company. The company focuses on eliminating global textile waste, turning pre- and post-consumer textiles into high-quality recycled fibers to be used in the next generation of textile products. This keeps waste out of incinerators and overburdened landfills and offers a tangible circular solution to the textile industry.

The facility provides innovative, scalable, and zero-waste-to-landfill solutions to help textile businesses reduce waste and increase the amount of textile-to-textile recycled fiber put back into their supply chain by converting unwanted textiles into the feedstock for new products. Looptworks is the only US textile recycling operation to provide the recycling of multiple types of materials of both pre- and post-recycled textiles into a range of finished fiber products in a circular system.  

Looptworks is the West Coast’s first textile-to-textile recycling facility and the first and only US textile-to-textile recycling facility that will be able to process all the leading animal, man-made cellulosic, plant, and synthetic fibers – even blends – into high quality recycled fiber for the yarn spinning and non-wovens markets. Such fibers include polyester, cotton, polyamide (nylon), man-made cellulosic fibers (viscose, lyocell, and modal), hemp, linen, acrylics, and elastane (up to 10%).

What is the market demand for your products?

According to Textile Exchange’s The Future of Synthetics report, “textile-to-textile recycling can be considered the most “established” solution to the replacement of new virgin synthetics. While limited technologies already exist to make this a reality, the demand for textile-based feedstocks currently far outweighs the supply.” The size of the problem with textiles is so great that as industry veterans, we could not stand by and continue to contribute to the problem. We took a step back from our corporate jobs and focused on solutions for textile circularity where the need exceeds the number of solutions available in the marketplace. The global recycled fiber market is over $350 billion and expanding rapidly, reflecting recent government policies in the European Union that are being adopted in the US (such as California’s SB 707 – the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024).  

What are the benefits of the Loopt System technology?

Looptworks operates a blend of elongated mechanical processes combined with green chemistry solutions. Our system has a lower energy, water and chemistry requirement than virgin fiber production, all while recovering 99% of the water in a closed system and creating low carbon emissions. The result represents significant carbon emissions avoidance, water conservation, and physical waste avoidance. Looptworks provides ESG metrics for its customers while also providing a completely transparent process for end-of-life textiles.  

Why is Looptworks based in Oregon?

Looptworks was founded in Portland Oregon in 2009 where it pioneered the practice of Upcycling with a mission to only use what already exists.  From 2009 to 2022, Looptworks focused on upcycling companies’ excess textiles, from airplane seats to NBA jerseys, into quality bags, backpacks, and travel accessories. In 2023, we transitioned to a fully B2B business model, adopting new technology to help companies take their excess textiles circular.  

We are in a prime location to make circularity happen in the textile sector given our proximity to regional, national, and global shipping via rail and ocean freight.  

What are Looptworks labor practices?

Looptworks has been a Certified B Corp since 2013 and one of the first 100 companies in the world with a supply chain to be certified as such. The notion that it is the responsibility of business to not only be stewards of the environment but also to make a positive social impact is baked into our DNA. That starts at home with our people. We value diversity in our team and the different perspectives that people with different backgrounds bring to a collaborative work environment. In addition, Looptworks has been proud to be named Best of the World, ranking in the top 5% of Certified B Corps in community support two of the last three years. Looptworks is also proud to help support the Loopt Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that is providing education and curriculum to schools, after-school programs, universities, and corporations. We are excited to start hiring community members to our team here in Gresham over the next few months, working with the city and local community colleges.

Does Looptworks use renewable energy?

Yes. The majority of the energy powering our facility is either wind, solar, or hydro power. We also have developed innovative ways to reduce the amount of energy our facility uses, capturing what energy sources might be created in the processing and feeding them back to the grid, as well as developing an opportunity for our own solar farm on the facility.  

As the first phase of the Loopt System is activated, what is Looptworks working on next?

As we extend our textile recycling processes to a wider variety of input materials, we are constantly expanding and improving our capacity and capabilities. We are setting the pace with technological advancements in automation, robotics, and AI. This will increase efficiency and capacity, and expand our processing capabilities, all while maintaining a commercially viable cost structure. 

We are also becoming certified to the Textile Exchange Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Recycled Content Standard (RCS) and anticipate finalizing that in 2025. This will enable brands to further substantiate their environmental claims with third-party verification.

Looptworks is a pioneer of the circular economy, especially in the US. Our patent-pending modular Loopt System will be able to be replicated in production and retail areas around the country – and, indeed, around the world.

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