March 23, 2026
alsico advances circular hi-vis workwear with breakthrough recovery of reflective glass beads
Alsico, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of protective workwear, in collaboration with Stuff4Life and Coats, has announced a major technical breakthrough in circular high-visibility workwear, successfully recovering and reusing retro-reflective glass beads from end-of-life hi-vis garments.
a breakthrough in recycling reflective materials
The development overcomes one of the biggest barriers to recycling hi-vis clothing: reflective strips that have traditionally forced garments into incineration due to their tightly bonded composite construction.
Stuff4Life’s patented polyester depolymerisation process, with technical validation from Teesside University, has been shown to separate and preserve the glass beads from hi-vis safety strips during processing. Laboratory analysis confirms that the recovered beads remain intact, spherical and optically effective, retaining up to 80% of their reflectivity compared with new material.
)
efficient recovery of reflective strips
Through this approach, up to 100% of glass beads can be captured through filtration, and that more than 75% of the total reflective strip material can be recovered by weight when reflective strips are manufactured on PET backing fabric. The findings pave the way for future hi-vis strips containing 100% recycled beads, helping manufacturers create genuinely circular safety garments without compromising safety or compliance.
Maintaining bead integrity and optical performance is fundamental. The Stuff4Life process delivers recovered beads that remain suitable for use in advanced reflective systems.
Joerg Jakobi, Global Trims Director at Coats
proven performance supporting circular workwear
Performance testing by Coats confirms the recovered beads meet the criteria required for reuse in new reflective tapes and materials.
The breakthrough supports alsico’s long-term approach to circular design, recovery and reuse through arx, reinforcing its ambition to create closed-loop solutions for complex workwear garments and reduce end-of-life incineration.
Recycling reflective strips has long been a critical challenge for hi-vis workwear. Until now, garments containing these materials were typically destined for incineration. These results show that a closed-loop pathway is technically achievable and brings us closer to making circular hi-vis garments a reality. By actively investing in recovery solutions and setting clear standards for recyclability, recycled content and closed-loop operations, we are continuing to build the infrastructure required to make circular workwear a reality at scale.
Vincent Siau, Head of the alsico Academy
The recovery of reflective glass beads opens new design opportunities and provides garment manufacturers, trim specialists, laundries and distributors with a clear technical pathway for designing hi-vis components with recovery and reuse in mind. The work also aligns with alsico’s 3CL by arx project, which aims to deliver a fully closed-loop workwear solution.
This work shows that we can close the loop not only on polyester, but on complex components such as reflective beads. It’s a major step toward genuinely circular protective garments.
John Twitchen, Director of Stuff4Life
Our ambition is to create a fully integrated, circular supply chain. One where alsico garments are collected, recycled, and reintroduced into production, with every stage validated and improved through stakeholder collaboration. By setting the standards for recyclability, recycled content, and closed-loop operations, we are building a system where market participants rely on our performance for both end-of-life management and new material sourcing.
Vincent Siau, Head of the alsico academy
curious to find out more?
