At FLÖDE, our commitment to sustainable innovation drives us to explore the potential within existing materials.
At Artikel2:s main hub in Stockholm, we continuously conduct manual textile sorting sessions twice a month, processing more than half a ton of textiles per session. The textiles we are investigating belong to the textile export segment, ie; the garment material that has been collected and discarded from selection and will be shipped to landfills*.
This hands-on initiative serves dual purposes: it enables us to gain a detailed understanding of local textile flows as well as allows us to curate high-quality materials for our own research and production. We focus on the textile export segment because this is the lowest step in the textile sorting system and is currently considered to have low value.
Insight into Textile Flows
Our hands on sorting sessions reveal:
- Volume and variety:
Detailed data on the amount and types of textiles received and discarded. - Material condition:
An assessment of the quality and usability of each item. - Potential for upcycling:
Identifying garments that, although considered discarded, have the potential to be transformed into new, sustainable products.
Curating Quality Materials
At every session, we manually sort through about 600 -700 kg of discarded products, carefully selecting textiles that align with FLÖDES material matrix.
In our material selection we focus on:
- High quality fibers:
Prioritizing materials that are best suited for upcycling, letrioritizing materials that have high-value fibers and are suited for upcycling, letting the materials drive the product development processes.
- Data-Driven Selection:
Using insights from our sorting to use in our research and development.
- Sustainable Sourcing:
Ensuring that the materials we collect contribute to a circular textile economy.
Driving Sustainable Innovation
Through these sessions, we continually refine our material insights and innovate our upcycling methods. Each batch of carefully chosen textiles feeds into new prototype designs, informs our research, and sharpens our workshops, ensuring that every discarded garment becomes an opportunity to advance practical, scalable solutions
Contact us to discover how this process can be incorporated into your prototyping, learning, and sustainable production while aligning with Sweden’s circular economy goals.
Interested in working with us? Want to learn why "discarded material" is the future of textiles. Contact us
