KARE ONESupport — demo

KARE ONE

What washes ashore

It does not have to stay this way.

We can change it together.

Discarded textiles, selected plastics and recycling residues may still hold the potential for a new life. KARE ONE is taking shape to explore that potential — together with people who want to build something better.

We want KARE ONE to belong to the people who help build it, too. Our aim is to give anyone interested the opportunity to become a shareholder. The shared-ownership model is being developed. Shares are not yet being offered; participation terms will be announced before it launches.

Research-stage projectExplore the materials

The fibres left behind

Where could these fibres go next?

An insulation idea to investigate.

Not every textile can be used again. KARE ONE proposes research into combining the fibres left behind with suitable binders from selected plastics.

Research-stage projectExplore the materials

What is in the material?

First, understand what is in the material.

Fibres carry traces of their treatments; plastics may contain additives. Understanding their composition and provenance helps decide which materials to investigate together.

Research-stage projectMaterials

Questions for independent testing

How would this material behave?

Heat transfer, fire behaviour and moisture resistance need independent testing. No KARE ONE laboratory results have been supplied.

Research-stage project · Visualisation of the proposed materialScience

The textile context

Textiles are slipping through the collection system.

The EU’s 2022 figures show that much household textile waste was not collected separately. This frames the question behind KARE ONE: which residual fibres could be selected for research?

6.94Mt

million tonnes of textile waste generated in the EU in 2022

16kg

kg of textile waste per person in the EU in 2022

85%

of household textile waste not collected separately in the EU in 2022

European Environment Agency · 2025 · 2022 data

European estimates. These figures do not measure KARE ONE’s activity or impact.

Clothing’s second life

Second-hand clothing is not automatically waste.

Second-hand trade makes clothing more affordable and supports sorting, repair and sales livelihoods. Non-reusable fractions can place a burden on local waste management.

Routes vary between countries and supply chains. Ghana, Kenya and Tunisia are research candidates, not established KARE ONE operating locations. No local partnership is announced.

Source : EEA · 2023

Reusable

Wear, repair, resale

Non-reusable

Characterisation and appropriate management

Two distinct pathways, without KARE ONE field data.

Independent perspectives

Collection is only the beginning.

Clothing placed in a collection bin does not automatically become new fabric. Plastic sent for recycling does not necessarily return as a material ready for another use.

Between collection and reuse come sorting, transport, the people doing the work and the composition of the materials themselves. Some waste is left without a suitable next use.

Two investigations look beyond the first act of collection.

Sur le front · Hugo Clément · France 5 · 2021

Où finissent nos vêtements ?

What happens to the clothes we donate? This investigation traces their journey from European sorting centres to second-hand markets, and on to textiles that can no longer find a use.

Watch on YouTube : Où finissent nos vêtements ?About the investigation : Où finissent nos vêtements ?

Large flows, uncertain destinations.

Attributed estimate · Ghana · 2021 film

≈ 15 millionused garments a week reportedly arriving in Ghana.

France Télévisions relays an estimate attributed to Liz Ricketts of The OR Foundation, including a claim that 40% of these arrivals ended up in open dumps.

A historical estimate repeated in the 2022 programme background, rather than an independently verified current national statistic or a measure of all textile flows to Africa.

France Télévisions · 2022 programme background

Cash Investigation · France 2 · 2018

Plastique : la grande intox

An investigation by Sandrine Rigaud

Recycling involves more than a promise on a package. This investigation explores the economics of the recycling sector and the risks associated with certain chemical additives in recovered plastics.

Watch on YouTube : Plastique : la grande intoxAbout the investigation : Plastique : la grande intox

A production line and a working day.

Documentary observations · Tanzania · 2018

≈ 86,340bottles made in two and a half hours on one line, according to the counter shown in the film.

In a separate sequence, the programme follows a woman collecting up to around 20 kg of bottles over eight hours, earning less than €2 according to the investigation.

Behind the volumes, the value and conditions of collection work matter too.

One production line and one individual filmed in 2018: neither production or earnings averages nor a current wage benchmark.

Manufacturing · around 01:08–01:10Collection · around 01:11–01:13

For KARE ONE, these accounts raise research questions: identifying polymers, characterising additives and studying selected materials for a specific use. They do not validate the proposed technology. Mixed beach litter, PET bottles and unscreened electronic-waste plastics are not presented as usable feedstocks for the project.

Independent investigations first broadcast in 2021 and 2018. Their findings reflect the circumstances of that time.

Starting the player loads external YouTube content. Google privacy policy · YouTube terms

The materials

Choose the fibres. Understand the binders.

Research candidates could include textiles that cannot be reused, selected plastics and some materials left after sorting or recycling. Finding a new life for them would begin with understanding what they contain.

A recycled origin does not establish a material’s exact composition or suitability for a new use. Polymer identity alone does not establish additive safety, even for a non-halogenated binder. Provenance and contaminant screening remain essential.

Candidate materials · identification to be confirmed

Candidate materials, screening and exclusions

Cotton and natural fibres

Candidate feedstock

Selected, traceable residues. Treatments, moisture and possible contamination still need examination.

Fractions left after textile sorting or recycling could also be examined, where their origin and composition can be established.

Polyester and synthetic textiles

Candidate feedstock

Identify the fibre and its treatments. Formulation and material behaviour remain to be established.

Blended textiles

Composition to clarify

Combined fibres require appropriate characterisation. No recovery rate is assumed.

Controlled PP / PE

Binders to explore

Compatible polymers and non-halogenated binders could be investigated, subject to screening additives and provenance.

Identifiable residues from recycling processes could be considered under the same compatibility, traceability and screening requirements.

Unknown or contaminated streams

Pending screening

Do not incorporate uncertain feedstock without identification, screening and a management decision.

PVC and suspect electronic-waste plastics

Outside the initial pathway

Exclude fractions suspected of containing brominated retardants or persistent organic pollutants from the initial research pathway; arrange appropriate management.

Material science

What else is in the polymer?

Elemental bromine, bromide ions and brominated flame retardants are different chemical categories. Their properties are not interchangeable.

Br₂

Elemental bromine

A chemical substance

Br⁻

Bromide ion

An ionic form

R—Br

Organobromine compounds

A family of substances

R—Br is generic bond notation, not the structure of a specific flame retardant.

Some brominated flame retardants raise persistence, toxicity or regulatory concerns, depending on the substance. Their presence does not establish a material’s fire safety.

Depending on the substances present, sorting and the recycling process, some additives of concern can enter new material streams. Appropriate checks are therefore essential before reuse is considered.

Source : EEA · 2023

A pathway based on screened materials

The recommended pathway prioritises controlled textile residues and suitable non-halogenated binders. Suspect fractions need identification, screening, separation and appropriate management. No bromine-extraction process is claimed.

Source : ECHA · 2024
From idea to testing

From selected fibres to a formulation.

The idea is to combine fibres with a suitable binder, then investigate the resulting material. These six steps describe a proposed pathway, not an operating production line. Manufacturing parameters remain confidential.

  1. 01

    Identification

    Define the material and its provenance

  2. 02

    Screening

    Examine contaminants and additives

  3. 03

    Preparation

    Prepare selected fibres

  4. 04

    Controlled binding

    Explore a compatible binder

  5. 05

    Forming

    Shape an experimental material

  6. 06

    Testing

    Assess performance and limitations

Visualisation of the proposed material
Questions for the laboratory

What would testing need to establish?

An insulation material needs assessment in the conditions of its intended use. These questions would guide independent testing of the formulation. None of these tests is presented as completed.

What would testing need to establish?
DomainQuestion to investigateStatus
ThermalHow does the material transmit heat?Proposed test
Fire and smokeHow does it react in a fire?Proposed test
Indoor emissionsWhich substances might it emit?Proposed test
AcousticsHow does it behave within an assembly?Proposed test
Moisture and mouldHow does it change in damp conditions?Proposed test
Mechanical strengthCan it withstand the proposed use?Proposed test
Durability and end of lifeHow does it age, and what happens next?Proposed test

Protocols, laboratories and acceptance criteria remain to be defined. The appearance of a sample cannot establish safety or compliance.

Potential uses

An initial direction for interior spaces.

Non-load-bearing interior partitions and acoustic infill are the proposed first research targets.

Visualisation of the proposed material. No design specification, fire classification or thermal performance has been established.

Non-load-bearing partition

Infill to investigate

Further possibilities, after validation

  • Internal wall systems
  • Floors
  • Ceilings
  • Roofs
  • Prefabricated modules
The research pathway

This is where we are today.

The initial concept exists. The following steps are proposed and depend on resources, expertise and results still to be obtained.

  1. Current stage

    Initial concept

  2. Proposed steps

    Feedstock definition

  3. Proposed steps

    Material formulation

  4. Proposed steps

    Independent tests

  5. Possible future

    Prototype and pilot

  6. Possible future

    Regulatory assessment

  7. Possible future

    Possible commercialisation

Which materials could this research explore?

KARE ONE would like to examine several families of residual materials: textiles that can no longer be reused, selected plastics and certain fractions left over after sorting or recycling.

The idea is to investigate a possible use for materials that have found no suitable outlet after collection or processing. A possible “third life”, without assuming two previous recycling cycles or claiming a chemical recycling process.

Residual textile fibres
Fibres and textile fractions unsuitable for direct reuse, subject to composition and contaminant screening.
Selected plastics
Identifiable, compatible polymer streams and candidate binders, prioritising screened non-halogenated options.
Residual fractions from sorting and recycling
Process leftovers, rejected fractions or secondary residues from recovery operations, only where their origin, composition and suitability can be established.

Each stream would need identification, characterisation and evaluation. Composition, additives, traceability and suitability for formulation remain to be checked. No supply stream or final material has yet been validated.

This does not open the research to all waste: mixed municipal waste, uncharacterised contaminated streams, PVC and electronic-waste plastics are not approved inputs. Fractions suspected of containing brominated flame retardants remain outside the initial pathway; unknown or contaminated streams remain on hold pending screening.

No market-launch timetable is announced.

The collective

A research conversation with room for others.

Each square suggests a place in a community yet to take shape. People with different experience could share their questions and help keep the research transparent.

Symbolic mosaic. It does not represent registered people, shares or financial rights.

One square to stand for each person
Demonstration

What could future support make possible?

This amount is fictional. It illustrates a future transparency interface. No real payment is processed on this site.

DEMONSTRATION — FICTIONAL AMOUNT

23 072 €

Proposed categories · no financial records

  • Donations
  • Grants
  • Investments
  • Fees
  • Refunds
  • Net available funds
Demonstration

Explore a fictional contribution

No data is saved. No payment is made. No financial rights are created.

50 €
Preview onlyAnonymous
Fictional identifierK1-DEMO-004218
Transparency

The references informing the research.

External research informs the questions. It does not prove the performance of a future KARE ONE material.

EEA · 2025

The European textile context

Established external research

EEA, 2025 · EU 2022 data. Textile waste: approximately 6.94 million tonnes, 16 kg per person; 85% of household textile waste not collected separately.

Read the source
EEA · 2023

Second-hand pathways

Established external research

EEA, 2023 · trade studied from 2000 to 2019. Uses and destinations vary; the data has uncertainties.

Read the source
ECHA · 2024

Brominated retardants

Established external research

ECHA, 2024. Concerns relating to certain aromatic brominated retardants; conclusions depend on the substance.

Read the source
Royal Society of Chemistry

Chemical categories

Educational reference

Royal Society of Chemistry. Elemental bromine must be distinguished from its compounds; the diagram is deliberately simplified.

Read the source

AI-created project illustrations show the proposed research. They do not document a physical prototype, facilities, tests or KARE ONE operations.

Project status on 12 October 2026

The conversation

Let’s talk about where the material could go.

Do you know a textile stream, work in a laboratory or have a question about the project? Share your experience or question to start the conversation.

Chat on WhatsApp