Exploring Construction and Building Applications for Textile Waste
Full report coming soon.
The building sector is increasingly prioritizing sustainability due to its high GHG emissions and waste generation. Seeking cost-effective and environmentally friendly materials for insulation is key for the sector to decarbonize while reducing waste.
Traditional insulation materials predominantly rely on non-renewable minerals or polymers, resulting in high embodied energy, significant global warming potential during production, and numerous challenges during disposal due to limited reusability and recycling options. In partnership with The Industrial Commons, this project aimed to investigate how textile waste can be used for building materials suitable to the organization’s current waste stream and processes.
With extensive desk research on textile applications in the building materials industry and interviews with experts and key stakeholders, the project was able to design new insulation materials with textile waste and the industrial process to develop them. This development allows a reduction in environmental impacts, an increase in productivity, and an expanded product offering, creating new markets and revenue streams.
Proposed supply chain for manufacturing of insulation material based on textile waste. Attribution: Arianna Andino & The Industrial Commons
