Seljak
Seljak makes blankets made from waste textiles. The circular product utilises discarded wool from factory floor offcuts, deadstock yarn and post-consumer textiles waste like old woollen jumpers.
Production process
Pre-consumer waste, i.e. the textile waste associated with the manufacturing process like offcuts, & post-consumer waste, which is old garments that can’t be donated or re-worn (like holey woollen sweaters) are used. This ‘waste’ is shredded and spun into new yarn. Leftover yarn, known as deadstock, is also used.
The offcuts are collected from the factory floor, i.e. overruns, trimmings and scraps from spinning or weaving. The offcuts & old blankets are then ripped up in an industrial ragging machine, spun into new yarn and made into blankets.
The post-consumer woollen garments are sorted into like-colours, by material, and fibre quality. Colour experts carefully match the colours of every yarn lot so that ‘stock colours’ are offered no matter which garments have been recycled. They are then ragged, shredded and spun into a new yarn with a bit of polyamide for strength.
They collect woollen textiles free of charge using a carbon-neutral courier service. If the blanket is still usable it is donated to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Material Aid program, and if it’s damaged and beyond usable it is sent to recycling.
Material properties
Wool is a natural fibre that is really difficult to replicate – it’s a renewable resource, lightweight, breathable, odour and stain resistant, antibacterial, and also insulating.
A new wool blanket (weighing 1kg) has a carbon footprint of 45.5 kgs of CO2 emissions (kgCO2-e). A recycled wool blanket of the same size (i.e. the equivalent of a Seljak blanket) has a carbon footprint of 3.4kgCO2-e.^
Along with having wool as the major constituent, the blanket may also consist of nylon, polyamide & other recycled fibres in varying quantities.
Circular features
A circular model that keeps resources at their highest value for as long as possible and diverts waste from landfill. Before remanufacturing, if they find the old blanket in a usable form, they launder it and donate it to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
They have diverted 8,058kg of textile waste from landfill.
Seljak also participates in systems innovation and advocates awareness for the circular economy and climate action.
Raw Materials
- The major component is wool. Depending on the type of blanket, it may also have:
- 25% polyamide
- 5-15% other recycled fibres
- 4-8% nylon
Afterlife Plan
Care instructions are provided to extend the life of the blanket.
When the usage ends, it can be returned free of charge and then re-manufactured: by adding it to the ragging machine with the other offcuts to be spun into new yarn and woven into new blankets.