The SCIRT project, formally titled ‘System Circularity and Innovative Recycling of Textiles’, was funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme. It ran from June 2021 to November 2024, with a total budget of EUR 9.21 million and an EU contribution of EUR 8.00 million. Coordinated by VLAAMSE INSTELLING VOOR TECHNOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK N.V. (Belgium), the consortium brought together 19 partners from Belgium, Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands, spanning research organisations, technology providers and value chain actors. SCIRT aimed to support systemic innovation towards a more circular fashion system by demonstrating an end-to-end textile-to-textile recycling system for post-consumer textiles, covering natural fibres, synthetic fibres and fibre blends. The project also addressed enabling conditions for circular apparel systems, including improved value chain transparency and measures targeting consumer behaviour and end-of-life textile flows.

A central achievement of SCIRT was the demonstration of an integrated textile-to-textile system for post-consumer textiles, involving all relevant actors along the value chain, from collection to retail. The project established a production chain by integrating new and innovative technologies into a step‑by‑step garment production process. This included improving sorting and dismantling techniques to enhance feedstock purity, increasing the quality of recycled yarns, and scaling up pilot innovations to industrial production.

SCIRT also introduced several technological advancements to improve the efficiency and quality of textile recycling processes:

• Advances in automated sorting technologies: refinement of fibre‑based and colour‑based sorting systems, including Fibersort, to improve feedstock purity and support higher‑quality recycling outcomes.
• Improved removal of non‑textile components: development of automated solutions to remove elements such as zips and buttons, helping to improve the quality of textile inputs used for recycling.
• Innovation to address elastane as a key recycling barrier: development of methods to detect and remove elastane using non‑toxic solvents without damaging other fibres, providing insights relevant for future fibre and garment design.

Beyond technological developments, the project also generated policy-relevant knowledge and evidence-based recommendations to support the wider uptake of circular practices and recycling-enabling conditions.

SCIRT aimed to contribute to EU objectives on circular economy transition and sustainable industrial transformation by addressing a key systemic challenge of the textiles ecosystem: scaling textile‑to‑textile recycling in preparation for increased separate collection of discarded textiles. By focusing on improved sorting, higher‑purity feedstock and solutions for complex fibre combinations (including elastane‑containing textiles), the project generated knowledge and technical advances that can strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of European textile value chains. Its system‑level approach, combining recycling technologies with value chain cooperation and consumer‑relevant measures, also supports broader EU ambitions to reduce waste, improve resource efficiency and enable viable circular business models. 

SCIRT was coordinated by VLAAMSE INSTELLING VOOR TECHNOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK N.V. and implemented by a European consortium, bringing together expertise across the textiles value chain. The project facilitated collaboration between research organisations, technology developers, textile manufacturers and brands to develop and validate solutions for textile‑to‑textile recycling. Through joint activities and stakeholder interactions, SCIRT supported practical knowledge exchange and generated transferable insights relevant for wider industry uptake and future circular fashion initiatives.