Textile Archive/Sweater S. Oliver (80% Acrylic, 20% Cotton)

▼This page is part of the Fab Region Bergisch documentation initiative.

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This grey sweater reached the archive straight from a used-clothing container (Textile Archive, 2026, canvas 29). It is a cable knit: groups of loops cross over each other to build the raised 'cables' (Fashionary, 2021, p. 154). Acrylic, invented in 1941 as an affordable wool look-alike, pills easily and is rarely recycled (Fashionary, 2021, p. 051).

Cotton, grown for over 6,000 years, is soft and breathable, but conventional cotton uses a lot of water and chemicals (Fashionary, 2021, pp. 018–019). Blends improve comfort or price, but are harder to recycle (Fashionary, 2021, p. 055; Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). With no composition label, the NIR scanner (80% Acrylic, 20% Cotton) is our only clue to what it is made of – infrared spectroscopy can identify fibres without a label (Riba et al., 2020).

The S. Oliver label doesn't say where it was made. It was set aside because of an odour – but its fibres could go back into new yarn (R8 Recycle; Potting et al., 2017).

Care tip: Air out and wash at max. 30°C with a vinegar rinse. Dry flat or on a line, not in the dryer (ISO 3758:2023; GINETEX).

A strong example of why NIR matters when the label is missing. Use it to show the path from garment back to fibre. Trace the brand to fill in the missing origin. Complete label language and 3D scan quality.

• Textile Archive (2026) Labels_Final – sample label sheets of the gesa measuring action, June 2026 [Canva design, 34 canvases]. Unpublished project data.
• Fashionary (2021) Textilepedia: The Complete Fabric Guide. Hong Kong: Fashionary International Ltd. ISBN 978-988-77110-9-4.
• Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017) A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion's Future. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy
• Riba, J.-R., Cantero, R., Canals, T. & Puig, R. (2020) Circular economy of post-consumer textile waste: classification through infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 272, 123011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123011
• Potting, J., Hekkert, M., Worrell, E. & Hanemaaijer, A. (2017) Circular Economy: Measuring Innovation in the Product Chain. The Hague: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. https://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/circular-economy-measuring-innovation-in-product-chains
• ISO (2023) ISO 3758:2023 Textiles – Care labelling code using symbols; GINETEX care labelling system. https://www.ginetex.net/en/labelling/