A
Acetate ‑ A
synthetic fiber used to make fabric with a
silk‑like appearance which resist stretching and
shrinking and are moderately absorbent.
Acrylic ‑ A man‑made fiber in which
the fiber forming substance is any long chain
synthetic polymer composed of at least 85% by
weight of acrylonitrile units. Basic building
blocks are natural gas and air.
Air knife - A blower device
that employs an air stream to push a selected
material(s) off a conveyor.
Auto-tie - A device that automatically
wraps a bale with a wire.
B
Balance ‑ Proportion of warp to
filling yarns. The more even the balance, the
more durable the fabric.
Balbriggan ‑ A jersey, interlock, or
ribbed knitted fabric made of cotton or cotton
blends for the undergarment, t‑ shirt, or
hosiery industry.
Banana Effect - The slight curving of
a bale -- primarily due to inconsistent density
-- that causes the denser bottom portion to
swell, creating a trapezoidal bale shape that
stresses the banding.
Banding - The material, usually wire
or nylon, wrapped around bales to secure them.
Basis Weight ‑ The weight of a unit
area of fabric (i.e., ounces per yard).
Batting - Produced by a garnett
machine which combs cotton and other fiber
binders into a continuous web or layer. Several
such layers combined are called cotton “batt”.
For compressed cotton felt, thick layers of
garnetted cotton fiber are mechanically
compressed to reduce body impressions.
Blend ‑ Two or more fiber types
combined in making yarn or fabric.
Broadcloth ‑ Closely woven fabric with
same count of yarns in both directions.
Generally made of cotton, but can be made of
silk, rayon, wool or blends.
Baler - A machine used to
compress and bind secondary materials for
storage and shipment.
C
Conveyor - A mechanical device
used to move materials.
Calendared Fabric ‑ A process of
pressing fabric between rollers or plates to
smooth and glaze.
Calendaring ‑ Process of pressing
fabric between rollers or plates to smooth and
glaze.
Carding ‑ A process of opening and
cleaning fibers — usually cotton — which
separates fibers from each other, lays them
parallel and condenses them into a singular
continuous untwisted strand, called ‘‘slivers.’’
Cellulose acetate pad - Woody fiber
compacted into a pad and used as a insulator.
May be glued or sandwiched between plastic
netting to help hold it together.
Cellulose Fiber ‑ Fiber derived from
many vegetable and plant sources including
cotton, wood, ramie, and hemp.
Chambray ‑ A plain weave fabric one
color warp yarn and a white fill yarn.
Chino ‑ All‑cotton twill fabric made
of combed two‑ply yarns.
Chintz ‑ A plain woven fabric with a
glazed finish.
Combed ‑ A process for removing short
fibers and impurities from carded cotton.
Compacted Knit ‑ A knit fabric where
shrinkage is reduced by mechanically forcing the
loops together in a vertical direction.
Conjugate polyester fiber - Spirally
crimped fiber that is crimped chemically rather
than thermally. Is very durable and resilient.
Corduroy ‑ A ribbed pile fabric.
Cotton felt - See Batting.
Cotton linters - The short fibers
adhering to the seed after the long staple fiber
has been removed in the ginning process. Used in
making cotton felt.
Cotton pickers - “Fall out” from
ginning or garnetting. These shorter staple
cotton fibers are blended with linters to
produce cotton felt.
Cuttings ‑ Small scraps of fabric knit
or wovens, generally a by‑product of the apparel
manufacturing process.
D
Denim ‑ A durable twill fabric, most
popular in indigo blue or natural white.
Duck ‑ A course woven fabric made of
cotton blends or synthetics of a heavier weight
yarn
Double Knit ‑ A circular knit fabric
of double thickness.
Double-ram baler - A baler
with a separate ram for compressing recyclable
material against a fixed wall and a second ram
for ejecting the finished bale (also see
single-ram baler).
Downstroke baler - A baling
device in which the compression ram and platen
move vertically in the chamber.
F
Fabric ‑ A sheet structure made from
fibers, filaments or yarns.
Fales pad - Compressed cotton felt
that is stitched together to better retain
compression.
Felt ‑ A fabric made of matted fibers,
generally wool or fur, bonded together through
the action of heat, moisture, chemicals and
pressure.
Fiber ‑ A slender elongated natural or
synthetic filament capable of being spun into
yarn.
Fiber pad - Usually refers to man-made
or natural fibers (wool, silk, etc.) that are
garnetted, needled, carded and/or bonded
together.
Fibroin ‑ Insoluble protein comprising
the filaments of raw silk fiber.
Flannel ‑ A soft, absorbent napped
fabric produced by revolving wire brushes which
raise to the surface of the fabric the short
fiber ends of spun yarn.
Fleece ‑ A soft deep‑piled knitted or
woven fabric.
Flock ‑ A very short fiber primarily
used in coating paper, fabric, plastic and other
objects.
G
Garnetting - A mechanical process
whereby short cotton fibers and/or other fibers
are combed into a specific orientation and
formed into a thin web, which are then layered
to create a batting used as an upholstery
material. See cotton felt.
Grain ‑ The directions in which the
threads composing the fabric run.
H
Hazardous Waste - Solid waste that
exhibits one of the four characteristics of a
hazardous waste (reactivity, corrosivity,
ignitability, and/or toxicity) or is
specifically designated as such by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Huck (huckaback) ‑ An absorbent
durable fabric of cotton, linen or both used
chiefly for towels.
I
Interlock ‑ A single knit chain
stitched fabric that is smooth on both sides.
J
Jersey ‑ A single knit fabric
characterized by chain stitch in the face and
courses on the back.
Jute ‑ Glossy fiber of the linden
family used chiefly for making burlap and twine.
K
Knapped Fabric (napped) ‑ A fabric
whose surface fibers have been raised by
mechanical means, thereby producing a softer,
more compact fabric that usually provides
greater warmth (example; flannel shirts,
blankets, etc.).
Knives - the attachments in
granulators and shear shredders that perform the
cutting or shearing action.
L
Landfill - An area where trash is
disposed, then buried beneath a layer of earth.
Landfills are usually equipped with a liner to
reduce soil and water pollution from
contaminating seepage, thus the term “sanitary
landfill.”
Linen ‑ A durable, absorbent fabric
made of flax.
Lint ‑ Particles of short fibers that
fall off a fabric product during the stresses of
use.
M
Machinery Waste ‑ Machined cotton
wiping and polishing waste.
Manerial-tie - Equipment
requiring use of manual labor to wraps bale or
bundle with wire or strapping.
Materials recovery facility (MRF)
- A term commonly used for a facility that
sorts and processes mixed recyclables.
Mill Ends ‑ Pieces of textiles of
various lengths, most often ranging from 1/4
yard to full rolls, originally from mills,
manufacturers, and other sources.
MRF or Material Recovery Facility - An
intermediate processing center that sorts
recyclables collected from municipal recycling
programs to prepare them for processing into
marketable industrial feedstocks for subsequent
manufacturing processes.
Multi-Bin Baler - A vertical baler
that has more than one charge box in order to
process different types or grades of material.
Muslin ‑ A woven fabric natural of
color cotton made of cotton or cotton blend.
N
Needlepunched fabric - A manufacturing
process for which high strength, lightweight,
non-woven construction fabrics are produced.
These fabrics are produced by garnetting fibers,
entangling or inner-locking these fibers
together by a series of needles and then
mechanically bonding or fusing them together via
heat to produce a fabric without glue or
binders.
Needlepunched pad - A manufacturing
process used to produce insulator pads
and non-woven fabrics whereby loose, garnetted
fibers are inner-locked by a series “needles”.
This process usually requires additional bonding
to keep the fibers in place.
Noils ‑ Short fiber removed during the
combing of a fabric.
Nylon ‑ A heat sensitive man‑made
fabric characterized by stain resistance and low
water absorbency.
O
Olefin ‑ A non‑absorbent man‑made
fabric with excellent elasticity and resiliency.
Oxford ‑ Group of cotton fabrics made
with modified plain of basket weave.
P
Percale ‑ A smooth finely combed woven
sheeting with a minimum thread count of 180
threads per square inch.
Picking belt A conveyor and
work stations used in the manual sorting of
secondary materials from a solid waste or
recyclables stream ( also see sorting deck).
Pile ‑ Soft, thick textured fabrics
such as terry, corduroy and velvet, resulting
from changing tension in the warp to create
loops.
Plain Weave ‑ Simplest and most common
type of weave in which the yarn in both the warp
and filling directions run alternately over one
and under one of the yarns it crosses.
Polypropylene ‑ A fiber obtained from
polypropylene gas, a by‑product of oil refining.
Poplin ‑ A fabric with a fine rib
effect on the surface because of a finer warp
yarn than woof yarn.
Post Consumer Textile Waste ‑ Usually
defined as textile waste from the home; this
could be used or worn clothing, bed linens,
towels, etc., that can be collected and
recycled.
Pre‑Consumer Textile Waste ‑ This is
waste produced from textile, apparel
manufacturing process. It can be mill‑ends,
scraps, clippings, or goods damaged during
production.
R
Rag Sorter ‑ A company that grades
post consumer textile waste by product,
condition, or material content. At this stage,
textile waste is converted from scrap to raw
materials.
Ram - A guided, hydraulically-driven
flat plate that exerts pressure on the material
in the charge box. Also called a platen or
plunger.
Rayon ‑ Smooth, highly absorbent
man‑made fabric made from cellulosic material.
Recycled Clothing - Clothing,
including textile consumer goods and apparel,
that has been discarded by consumers, charitable
institutions and retail establishments, and that
have undergone a discriminating process of
sorting, grading and separation into waste-free
products is suitable for reuse.
Recycling - A resource recovery method
involving the collection, separation, and
processing to specification of scrap materials
and their use as raw materials for manufacture
into new products.
Remnants ‑ Usually refers to short
lengths of textiles that are full width or
‘‘selvedge to selvedge’’ (similar to mill ends).
Roll Goods ‑ Fabric rolled up on a
core. Measured in terms of weight and width of
the roll as well as length of material on the
roll.
S
Scrap Processor or Recycler - Someone
who, from a fixed location, utilizes machinery
or equipment for processing and manufacturing
iron and steel scrap, nonferrous metallic scrap,
scrap paper, scrap plastics, scrap glass, scrap
rubber, or scrap textiles into prepared grades,
and whose principal product is scrap iron, scrap
steel, nonferrous metallic scrap, scrap paper,
scrap plastics, scrap glass, scrap rubber, or
scrap textiles for use as raw material in
manufacturing.
Scrim ‑ A very loosely woven fabric,
i.e. netting, used as support or backing.
Secondary Materials - A term commonly
used as a synonym for materials in the recycling
process.
Selvedge ‑ A narrow flat woven border
resulting at both lengthwise sides when the
crosswise threads reverse direction.
Sheeting ‑ Plain‑woven, carded yarn
cloths in medium and heavy weights. A woven or
non-woven fabric other than knits that have a
degree of sizing and are somewhat stiff.
Sisal - A product of the henequen
plant formed into a pad and used as an
insulator. Named after the small port of Sisal
in Yucatan.
Sliver ‑ An untwisted strand or rope
of textile fiber produced by a carding or
combing machine.
Solid Waste - Any garbage, refuse,
sludge from a waste treatment plant, or air
pollution control facility and other discarded
material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid,
or contained gaseous material resulting from
industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural
operations, and from community activities.
According to EPA, home, industrial, and
processed scrap metal are exempt from the
definition of solid waste.
Sorting deck - A raised platform
where sorting personnel remove selected
secondary materials from a mixed stream passing
by on a conveyor ( also see picking belt).
Source Separation - Any method that
separates waste from recyclables at the source.
Such methods include curbside collection,
buyback programs, and drop-off programs.
Spandex ‑ A lightweight, highly
elastic man‑made fabric which is strong, durable
and non‑absorbent to water and oils.
T
Tensile Strength ‑ The greatest
longitudinal stress a fabric can bear without
tearing apart.
Tentering ‑ Drying stretching of
fabric.
Terry ‑ An absorbent uncut pile fabric
with loops forming the pile.
Textile MRF (Materials Recycling Facility)
‑ This is a facility that grades and sorts post
consumer textile waste. See ‘‘Rag Sorter.’’
Thread Count ‑ The number of warp and
woof yarns per inch in a woven fabric. The
higher the thread count, the stronger and finer
the fabric.
Ticking ‑ A strong, durable cotton or
linen fabric used for upholstery and mattress
covering.
Turkish Towel ‑ A towel made of thick
cotton terry cloth.
Twill ‑ A strong, durable fabric
characterized by a diagonal ridge on the face of
the fabric.
V
Velour ‑ Term applied to cut pile
fabrics in general.
Vintage Used Clothing ‑ This is reused
clothing that has either come back into style
or is part of a popular culture.
W
Warp ‑ A series of yarns extended
lengthwise in a loom, crossed by the woof.
Waste Stream - The waste material
output of a community, region, or facility.
Weft ‑ Yarn used for the woof.
Woof ‑ A filling thread or yarn in
weaving.
Wool ‑ A natural fabric made from the
fur of sheep and other animals which is
exceptionally absorbent but loses strength when
wet.
Worsted ‑ A smooth compact yarn made
from long wool fibers used especially in firm
napless fabrics.
SORT/FREIGHT ABBREVIATIONS
BFS· Bunker Fuel Service Charge.
C&F · Cost (of goods) and freight
(transportation).
CAF · Currency Adjustment Factor.
CFI · Cost, Freight & Insurance.
FAS · Freight Along Side (Vessel,
Truck, Pier).
FOB · Freight on Board (Vessel, Truck,
Pier) — If cargo is purchased.
FOB Port · The shipper is responsible
for delivering the cargo to the port of exit as
part of the selling price.
FOB Warehouse · The buyer must move
the cargo to the port of exit.
THC · Terminal Handling Charge.
