.How we recycle

What happens to the clothes in clothing collection containers?
What do large international companies do with corporate clothing that needs renewal? Or where does the clothing of the Dutch military end up after its services? In short, what happens to the mountain of textile waste that doesn't go to charitable causes? Spoiler alert: Planq. For those curious enough about the "how," we have the answer. Textile recycling: this is how we do it at Planq.

Textile Recycling for Circular Design in 5 Phases

Did you know that in 2019, 86 kilotons of textiles were sorted and collected through municipalities? Meanwhile, about 174 kilotons ended up in general waste, more than half of which was still (re)wearable or recyclable. Fun facts like these are great—especially when we can actually do something about them.

We believe in creating beautiful products from waste materials, including textile waste. And we believe in going beyond just recycling. Sustainability isn't about making promises to improve the world—not for us, at least. We focus on raising awareness, inspiring others, and creating an impact in this way. Textile recycling is part of this effort—in fact, it's one of the most important steps toward our collection of Planq Products. From textile recycling to circular design in 5 phases

  1. Collecting: ‘We’re leftover junkies’

Collected textiles are the type of leftovers we love to fill our "Tupperware" with. Where do we get it? A social workshop that collects old jeans, the Dutch military, the well-known black-and-gray business suits, or flight attendant uniforms from KLM—all of these are key sources for our textile recycling process.

Here’s another fun fact: did you know that we need 3,000 to 5,000 kg of jeans to start the process in the factory? That’s about 6,250 pairs of jeans!

2. From shreds to fibers

Without diving too deep into the technical details, the textile recycling process continues with shredding, fiberizing, and needling all the collected items. Through fiberizing, coarse shreds are created. This is done by product type and composition, allowing us to neatly replenish the standard colors in our materials library. The shreds are then broken down further into long fibers. These long fibers provide strength and durability—the ultimate foundation for timeless designs!

3. Time to spin!

At this stage, the fibers are mixed in a large centrifuge and then spun into felt. We combine the fibers with recycled or biobased binders, creating a non-woven felt fabric. Here’s another fun fact: one commonly used binder at this stage is made from potato starch.

4. Rolling or Pressing

At this point, the textile recycling process starts to take shape—literally! By pressing or rolling the felt over a mold, it hardens into a thermoplastic material after cooling. The choice between rolling or pressing depends on the type of end product, such as a table or a chair. This “textile composite” is fully biodegradable and can be recycled again, completing the circle.

3. Time to spin!

A Vision for a Better Future. By plotting, punching, and laser-cutting the bioplastic, we create the final products for our sustainable design furniture—with our own PlanqTextile as the foundation! Curious about how many pairs of jeans you need to make the Ubu Chair, one of our must-have pieces? Exactly 7.2 pairs!

And that’s how we wrap up the entire textile recycling process—with one last fun fact!

.Anything but ordinary

Anything but Ordinary.

By combining this vision with the vast amounts of textile waste, a keen eye for design, and a desire to inspire the world, we’ve developed a process that blends sustainable innovation and environmental consciousness in five phases.

What products emerge from this process? Everything from chairs, stools, and sofas to tables, side tables, and cabinets. For architects, we also create sheet materials. By transforming low-value materials into high-end products, textile recycling becomes much more than just sustainability—it’s a statement of creativity and purpose.

Curious about our samples? Request them below or download 3D files of our sustainable collection to explore our designs!