“The recycling process is actually as old as textiles itself. The term 'rag trade'  actually comes from what we are doing. It’s amazing to think that from August 22 to January 23 Lovelight’s partnership with  TRAKS has managed to keep 1,684 kilograms (1.68 tonnes) from landfill.”- Karie Soehardi, TRAKS Co-founder.

This month, we delve into a conversation with Karie Soehardi, Co-founder of TRAKS, to understand how this innovative company has quickly earned a spot in the Australian architectural design industry by turning waste into furnishing fabrics. "TRAKS is a collaboration between Textile Recyclers Australia (TRA) and my Consultancy, Karie Soehardi Consultancy(KS) now known as Circular Design Thinking . It is our shared vision of preventing textiles from ending up in landfills that brought us together. TRA has decades of experience in the textile industry, while my background lies in design of furnishings and rugs. Leveraging our combined expertise, we're aiming to repurpose furnishing textiles and rugs back into yarn for new furnishings.”

The small TRAKS team, of just three founders and a small team in Sydney and Melbourne started by taking back furnishing textiles and rugs to re-process and spin into yarn, “It is early days but we are very pleased with how many brand owners are getting behind TRAKS Textile Recycling.”

As for Lovelight, the collaboration was started through the James Dunlop Group, one of TRAKS' biggest advocates. "James Dunlop and its brands including Zepel and Mokum, have been integral in spreading the word about our mission. They introduced us to Lovelight, showing them how much textile waste could be prevented from reaching landfills. We’re humbled by the support we’ve received, and it’s heartening to see how much fabric waste can be saved in the production process alone.”

Explaining the fabric recycling process, Karie says, "It's as old as textiles itself. The terms 'rag trade' and 'rag man' come from a similar process to what we're doing. The process involves sorting textiles into fibres and colours, which are then cleaned, shredded and turned back into fibres to be spun into yarn. Although some new fibres are added to this composition, we’re seeing a steady increase in the recycled content year on year, which is incredibly encouraging. We always urge consumers to check the composition of furnishings for recycled content. Making sustainability a part of your purchase checklist can bring about significant changes."

Between August '22 and January '23, TRAKS helped Lovelight save a whopping 1,684 kilograms (1.68 tonnes) of fabric from going into landfill, averaging a monthly pickup of 280kgs.

TRAKS believes that the consumer has the power to stop the waste they create by asking the brands that they purchase from, “to make sure they recycle not just final products but off-cuts, any type of waste - not just textiles.” This all stems from the larger call out to “Buy well, buy once.” where brands like TRAKS and Lovelight are urging the public to “rethink the ' 'throw-away'' mentality and start valuing things again. Because it is costing us the earth. If you want to update your furnishings, be thoughtful about it - use apps like Recycle Mate and ask the brands you have purchased from if they have a product stewardship, or pass on to someone you know will love what you loved once.”

When it comes to the future of sustainability and TRAKS, Karie has a clear vision. "we are researching and developing other pathways that we will use in addition to what we are doing now. So stay tuned as the R&D is not at a commercial level yet but once it is, we shall have multiple pathways to help with textile recycling. We’re working hard to pave 'Pathways to a Sustainable Future' and we're thrilled to have Lovelight  join us in this journey."