A systematic review of recycled cotton fibre blending practices, challenges and recommendations

Abstract

The speed with which fashion trends change encourages excessive consumption and inadequate management of textile waste. Therefore, the use of recycled cotton fibres (RCF), as a sustainable alternative, by textile industries has taken on greater relevance; however, there are uncertainties about its implementation and appropriate method. Therefore, this review aims to identify the method of blending recycled cotton fibres to produce new yarns. For this, the PICO method was used to define the research questions and keywords; Then, it was complemented with the PRISMA methodology to search for information in the Scopus and ProQuest databases. The information found was analyzed in an Ishikawa diagram and later in a Pareto diagram. Finally, it was concluded that the most suitable RCF blending method is 50% VCF with 50% RCF. If more RCFs were added, the products would not meet the optimal quality measures for their production and marketing. Likewise, the main limitations to implementing the method are the adequate selection of the type of recycling, a high financial outlay for the classification of fibres legal loopholes such as the lack of supervision by the government, and inadequate implementation of the extended responsibility policy (EPR). Furthermore, the lack of specific regulations on textile recycling and the absence of certifications for companies that adopt sustainable practices represent additional obstacles.