Fashion – Enter Wales: Novelle Yarn Project Site Visit & Recycled Textile Shredding #10

As part of the Novelle Yarn project in collaboration with SMARTCryum and Potter Group, Eddie Bebb, Commercial Manager at Fashion-Enter Wales made a visit to the JMP Wilcox & Co Ltd textile sorting depot in Bilston (West Midlands). He was accompanied by Debbie Potter and Richard Carter of the Potter Group, on his return on the 4th May 2022 Eddie reported: 

‘Stuart Wilson (JMP Wilcox & Co Ltd General Manager) gave us a detailed tour of the site and I was able to see and photograph every stage of the process.

‘A fleet of over 80 vehicles collect 900 tonnes of garments each week from 3,500 collection points in the UK.

‘There are 200 staff on site who manually sort through the garments – product is moved around the plant using the Valvan computerised system.

‘Vintage clothing (which now includes items from the 2000’s!) is the most lucrative product but only represents 1% of their turnover. 90% of the garments are sold to Eastern Europe with the UK market taking products that are not fit for purpose as reusable clothing these will be converted into industrial wiping product, flock rags or mixed felt material.

First Stage Shred Material

During April Richard Carter from the Potter Group sourced 4 bags of waste fabric from JMP Wilcox:

1 Cloth (Coats & similar)

2 Jumper

3 Low Rag

4 Synthetic Nylon Rummage

‘This was then shred and 1kg samples of each waste product category has been sent to Leeds University to undertake further trials to test which is the most appropriate to be converted into a yarn.’