Launch of 'Used Clothing Recycling Project'—Upcycling Discarded Clothes into Beautiful Boards, Offering Integrated Services from Collection to Reuse
Work Studio has launched a project that collects used corporate and municipal clothing, including hard-to-recycle blended fibers, and transforms them into construction and furniture boards via their PANECO platform, enabling a true circular economy.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 18:05
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 09:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 25, 2026 at 04:48 (19h 16m after Collected)
Work Studio Co., Ltd. (Representative Director: Kazuhiro Hara), which operates the textile resource circulation platform "PANECO®︎", has launched the "Used Clothing Recycling Project", which collects used clothing generated in society and recycles it into building materials, interior materials, and furniture materials.
In this project, we design the destination after collection and provide everything from recycling to reuse as an integrated package.
This transforms used clothing recycling from mere disposal into a "mechanism for continued use".
Background
While the recycling of used clothing is expanding, there is an issue that the circulation is not fully established; for example, many collected clothes are not reused and end up being incinerated.
In addition, while some collected clothing is exported overseas for reuse, not all of it is utilized effectively, and the limits of circulation both domestically and internationally have been pointed out.
Furthermore, because clothing often contains a mixture of multiple materials such as cotton, polyester, and nylon, sorting is difficult, and the current situation is that it is not sufficiently recycled into resources.
Project Details
We have started offering the following for companies, local governments, organizations, educational institutions, commercial facilities, etc.:
- Collection of used clothing
- Recycling to utilize textiles as materials (processing into boards)
- Proposals for reuse as building materials, interior materials, and furniture materials
- Integrated design from collection to reuse (circular design)
This project does not only perform collection.
It is provided as a system premised on recycling into resources and reuse.
Features
◎ Does not end with collection
Provides integrated services up to recycling and reuse after collection. We design the destination.
◎ Compatible with clothing that is difficult to sort
Targets areas that were conventionally difficult to recycle, such as blended fibers.
◎ Reuse as building materials and interior materials
Collected clothing is pulverized and molded into boards, then re-implemented into spaces and products.
Technology and the Flow of Recycling
Collected used clothing is reconstructed into boards through pulverization, mixing, and pressurized heating.
These boards are reused as interior materials, furniture, fixtures, and products, and can be recycled again after use.
(*Technology based on Patent No. 7254401)
Target
This project targets the following entities:
- Companies (uniforms/workwear, etc.)
- Local governments and various organizations
- Commercial facilities
- Educational institutions
Implementation Value
- Reduction and recycling of discarded clothing
- Visualization of resource circulation
- Reuse as interior and furniture materials
- Materialization of sustainability measures
Concept: Resources in the City
In this project, used clothing is regarded as "resources existing in the city."
Instead of relying on external resources, we recycle clothing that already exists in society and reuse it as building materials, interior materials, and furniture materials, realizing a sustainable resource supply and circulation.
Future Development
We will expand collaboration with companies, local governments, organizations, and educational institutions to broaden the scope of collection and develop new reuse destinations.
We will also increase examples of utilization as building materials, interior materials, furniture, and products to accelerate the social implementation of resource circulation.
Used clothing is not something to be disposed of, but a resource with next-generation value.
Instead of ending with collection, we move to a system where it is recycled and used continuously.
This project is an initiative to change how used clothing ends.
In this project, we design the destination after collection and provide everything from recycling to reuse as an integrated package.
This transforms used clothing recycling from mere disposal into a "mechanism for continued use".
Background
While the recycling of used clothing is expanding, there is an issue that the circulation is not fully established; for example, many collected clothes are not reused and end up being incinerated.
In addition, while some collected clothing is exported overseas for reuse, not all of it is utilized effectively, and the limits of circulation both domestically and internationally have been pointed out.
Furthermore, because clothing often contains a mixture of multiple materials such as cotton, polyester, and nylon, sorting is difficult, and the current situation is that it is not sufficiently recycled into resources.
Project Details
We have started offering the following for companies, local governments, organizations, educational institutions, commercial facilities, etc.:
- Collection of used clothing
- Recycling to utilize textiles as materials (processing into boards)
- Proposals for reuse as building materials, interior materials, and furniture materials
- Integrated design from collection to reuse (circular design)
This project does not only perform collection.
It is provided as a system premised on recycling into resources and reuse.
Features
◎ Does not end with collection
Provides integrated services up to recycling and reuse after collection. We design the destination.
◎ Compatible with clothing that is difficult to sort
Targets areas that were conventionally difficult to recycle, such as blended fibers.
◎ Reuse as building materials and interior materials
Collected clothing is pulverized and molded into boards, then re-implemented into spaces and products.
Technology and the Flow of Recycling
Collected used clothing is reconstructed into boards through pulverization, mixing, and pressurized heating.
These boards are reused as interior materials, furniture, fixtures, and products, and can be recycled again after use.
(*Technology based on Patent No. 7254401)
Target
This project targets the following entities:
- Companies (uniforms/workwear, etc.)
- Local governments and various organizations
- Commercial facilities
- Educational institutions
Implementation Value
- Reduction and recycling of discarded clothing
- Visualization of resource circulation
- Reuse as interior and furniture materials
- Materialization of sustainability measures
Concept: Resources in the City
In this project, used clothing is regarded as "resources existing in the city."
Instead of relying on external resources, we recycle clothing that already exists in society and reuse it as building materials, interior materials, and furniture materials, realizing a sustainable resource supply and circulation.
Future Development
We will expand collaboration with companies, local governments, organizations, and educational institutions to broaden the scope of collection and develop new reuse destinations.
We will also increase examples of utilization as building materials, interior materials, furniture, and products to accelerate the social implementation of resource circulation.
Used clothing is not something to be disposed of, but a resource with next-generation value.
Instead of ending with collection, we move to a system where it is recycled and used continuously.
This project is an initiative to change how used clothing ends.