Every season, tens of thousands of jerseys and other sports equipment become unusable due to changes in players (sizes, numbers, etc.), club colors or sponsors. The sports sector generates large volumes of textile waste, posing major environmental challenges.
Since its creation, NOLT has been committed to rethinking the life cycle of polyester sports shirts, aiming for a circular economy model. The infinite jersey project took shape thanks to a strategic partnership with French company Recyc'Elita French company specializing in molecular recycling, and aims to create a closed loop that will enable sportswear to be recycled ad infinitum.
Create a fully recyclable, traceable, sustainable, closed-loop jersey.
NOLT collects several hundred kilos of end-of-life jerseys from its clubs. To launch the Infinite jersey project, NOLT has recycled around 50 soccer, rugby and handball shirts, made from recycled bottle polyester and elastane, which have been worn for at least two seasons.
After a process of depolymerization and repolymerization, the granules obtained have mechanical and thermal properties close to those of virgin polyester, confirming their potential for textile applications. The yields obtained and the satisfactory characteristics of rPET confirm the overall efficiency of the process.
Initial spinning tests (carried out with the IFTH technical center) have validated the properties of the rPET produced. The performances observed indicate that the recycled yarn will be able to meet the technical specifications defined.
The project has reached a decisive milestone by demonstrating the technical feasibility of molecular recycling of used polyester sports textiles. The results obtained validate a proof of concept, pave the way for future industrialization and the creation of a closed loop around polyester recycling.
The jerseys collected from clubs often did not comply with the specifications co-constructed by NOLT and Recyc'Elitwith too many contaminants, hard spots and missing labels. Collection and sorting highlighted the challenges of managing multi-brand used textiles. Only polyester and polyester/elastane used jerseys could be tested with the innovative molecular recycling process of Recy'Elit. This demonstrates the importance of supporting all sports brands in the eco-design of garments marketed for recycling. Eventually, NOLT will offer its INFINITE YARN recycled yarn to all sports brands wishing to offer circular clothing to their customers.
Video presentation of Maillot Infini in conjunction with Challenge Innovation (organized by Refashion), of which NOLT was the 2023 winner:
"It's a dream, this infinity jersey. A dream on which we've built NOLT for almost 5 years. A dream that gives meaning to everything we do, that goes beyond sport and increases our impact tenfold. A dream we're proud to see come to fruition with the creation of the infinite jersey thread with our partners Recyc'Elit, l'IFTH and Refashion. This dream is just the beginning of the project, now the hardest part is coming for us: scaling up and profoundly transforming the sports industry. See you in 5 years to see if we've succeeded in our crazy gamble!"
"Recyc'Elit is delighted to have helped make this project possible. It shows that recycling complex textiles at the end of their life cycle to make new textiles is no longer a dream, but a reality. Our next challenge will be to reproduce this success on an industrial scale".
"We are delighted to have supported and accompanied Le Maillot Infini by NOLTwinner of Refashion. This attractive project, covering all stages of the recycling value chain, from the collection of used textiles to the regeneration of polyester jerseys, immediately appealed to the Jury from the Refashion Scientific Committee. It testifies to the commitment of the NOLT brand's commitment and is a continuation of the R-Shapeproject, which won a prize at Refashion."
"Enzo Chanoz (senior technician) and I had the opportunity to welcome the teams from NOLTRecyc'Elit and Refashion teams on our Ecully recycling platform. The day was a major breakthrough in the field of closed-loop textile recycling, as we succeeded in producing a yarn from chemically recycled raw materials that met the required specifications. It's a great project, supported by the IFTH ! "
For a long time a simple symbol of belonging, the personalized soccer jersey is becoming an intelligent object, capable of connecting the athlete or supporter to a veritable digital ecosystem.
For a long time a simple symbol of belonging, the personalized soccer jersey is becoming an intelligent object, capable of connecting the athlete or supporter to a veritable digital ecosystem.
