Creating a Circular Economy for Cotton Textiles

The Metro Center is working to address waste in the textile industry – the world’s second largest polluter. While textiles may be repurposed through thrift stores and the rag industry, once they are used, their final destination is most often the landfill, increasing their negative environmental impact. Dr. Hang Liu, in WSU’s Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles (AMDT), has created a groundbreaking textile waste recycling technology of turning post-consumer cotton waste into regenerated fibers to potentially break this cycle of waste.

In 2023 we focused our project on linens discarded by the hotel industry. With a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce, and  invaluable assistance from the Washington Hospitality Association, we surveyed 37 hotels across the state. Our team  1) estimated the number of hotel linens discarded in WA state; 2) evaluated market potential of discarded linens; 3) tested the quality of discarded hotel sheets and towels compared to new linens to assess their suitability for secondary markets; 4) assessed policies that encourage reuse and repurposing of discarded linens and; 5) held a reinvention hack-a-thon, sponsored by the Pullman Marriott, open to AMDT students which encouraged them to design creative new products made from discarded hotel linens.

Since 2024, we have been working on expanding our networks and stakeholders and researching hotel linen manufacturers to explore the possibility of creating a circular economy completely within the hospitality industry. Team members have made multiple state, national and international presentations, and submitted papers for publication.

• Patricia Townsend, Ph.D., Associate Professor, WSU Extension
• Hang Liu, Ph.D., Associate Professor, WSU Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles
• Martha Aitken, Assistant Director, WSU Metropolitan Center for Applied Research and Extension
• Mark Beattie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, WSU Carson College of Business, School of Hospitality Business Management
• Giuseppina Menconi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Cesar Ritz Colleges Switzerland
• Alex Johnson, Undergraduate Intern, University of Washington