Circulary

Dafecor is one of the few companies utilising textile waste on an industrial scale in Finland. Dafecor acts as a partner to several parties. It takes the leftover materials from textile production and waste textiles from the public sector, laundries and consumers. Using a mechanical recycling process, the company transforms the textile materials back into fibres and uses these to manufacture new materials and products for various uses.

Dafecor’s products are mainly used in industrial maintenance to prevent or rectify environmental damage. In addition, the company manufactures insulation products for construction, as well as products suitable for the furniture industry and gardening. Typical end users include companies in the metal and paper industries.

• According to Dafecor, there have also been signals from the consumer sector pointing towards increased interest in recycled textile products manufactured in Finland. The company is addressing this demand with its Green Craft handicraft materials and courses, which have been realised in collaboration with the Finnish Crafts Organisation, Taito ry.
• Dafecor uses surplus material from the textile industry to manufacture new products for industrial maintenance and for preventing environmental damage.
• Dafecor acts as a partner to several parties. It takes the leftover materials from textile production and waste textiles from several parties. When recycled materials are used to manufacture new products, more natural resources are saved and smaller amounts of textiles are burned to produce energy. Every kilogram of raw material that is used in Dafecor’s products has already been used at least once.
• Manufacturing does not impact the environment as the process does not require any water or chemicals at all.
• The company is also taking social responsibility by providing work for third sector employees in organizations and municipalities, in addition to employing its own permanent staff.

• According to Risto Saha (Managing Director): “The diversity of different fibre blends of textile represents a challenge, also in terms of sorting and pre-processing. From the point of view of further processing, sorting plays a key role, so we have built up and trained our own network of partners over the years”.
• Dafecor believes that consumers have the desire to participate in textile recycling. However, there is no uniform recycling system for discarded textiles. Dafecor reports that its partners who take receipt of discarded textiles often find dirty products in their collection containers, making it more difficult to process the textiles.
• An additional factor for consideration in Finland is the long transportation distances, which give rise to freight costs.

Risto Saha

+358 50 320 5344

risto.saha@dafecor.fi