Shahi and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HRKITA) are collaborating to advance their shared goals of moving towards a circular economy and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the apparel supply chain. HKRITA’s technologies successfully transform cellulose powder recovered from recycling cotton-polyester blends into a superabsorbent polymer (SAP). The application of this SAP in cotton production was tested in the field by Shahi. Initial results indicate that applying SAP on the cotton plants did improve water retention, especially under extreme water stress, and hence enhanced cotton yield and quality. A larger experiment in 2021 will be conducted to validate these findings.
