Textile Show Comes to the Del

More than 100 textile recycling professionals with 68 companies will gather at the Hotel del Coronado Sunday as the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association's annual conference gets under way.

The idea behind the four-day conference is to network with aligned industry professionals and to promote recycling clothes and other textiles.

"More than 95 percent of all clothing and textiles can be recycled; the only requirement is that the material is clean and dry," said Larry Groipen, president of SMART. "Even if it is stained or torn, there is still a use for them in the world of textile recycling."

According to Groipen, the infrastructure is in place for existing recycling programs to add clothing and textile recycling services in many areas.

"People already know they can donate clothing to charities and by getting municipalities and charities working in partnership, the amount of clothing being donated will skyrocket," he said.

The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association is made up of companies from the Untied States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Central America, Europe and Pacific Rim countries. SMART members work to reduce solid waste by reclaiming, converting and recycling textiles and secondary materials, according to the SMARTasn.org website.

– City News Service