Modern footwear and textiles consist of complex material combinations and blended structures. As a result, visual inspection alone is no longer sufficient to determine their material composition. At the same time, regulatory requirements and sustainability targets are driving the demand for reliable and traceable material data.

“Material innovation is driving the future of footwear and textiles, but it also increases complexity across the value chain,” said Adrian Vogel, Segment Lead Circular Economy at trinamiX. “trinamiX Mobile NIR Spectroscopy Solution provides a practical tool that helps customers gain transparency, minimize risks, and enable informed decisions in recycling and circular economy processes.”

Reliable identification of shoe components

Footwear products today consist of multiple components made from different polymers, foams, textiles and composite materials. The mobile NIR spectroscopy solution from trinamiX enables the reliable identification of commonly used shoe materials such as EVA, polyester and PU within seconds and directly on site. Measurements can be performed during incoming goods inspection, in production as well as in sorting or recycling processes. This improves material separation, quality control, and recycling readiness, while reducing contamination risks and manual sorting efforts.

Transparency in textile value chains

Similar challenges arise in the textile industry, where blended fabrics pose major challenges for recycling and reuse. The trinamiX solution supports the identification of relevant textile materials and their blends such as cotton/polyester or viscose/polyester. For binary blends, fiber ratios are determined as percentages. Complex material compositions can be reliably analyzed and assessed.

The textile application will be available from May 2026. It is designed to support textile producers, brands, sorters, recyclers and carpet manufacturers in validating material declarations, improving sorting accuracy, and facilitating closed-loop recycling processes.

Integrated handheld solution for decentralized use

trinamiX enables material identification at the push of a button. The solution combines a robust handheld spectrometer with an intuitive mobile app and a cloud-based data platform. The handheld spectrometer trinamiX PAL Two enables fast, non-destructive measurements even in demanding environments. The mobile app guides users through the measurement process and delivers instant, easy-to-interpret results, while the customer portal enables secure documentation, visualization, and traceability of measurement data. Users benefit from reproducible results, minimal training requirements, and standardized material identification across different sites and regions.

The trinamiX ecosystem can also be seamlessly integrated into existing software solutions and platforms via interfaces (API), supporting further data processing in the context of regulatory requirements such as Digital Product Passports (:) and sustainability performance metrics.

Supporting circular economy strategies

By enabling reliable material identification along the entire value chain, the trinamiX solution supports companies in implementing circular economy strategies. Improved material transparency helps increase recycling efficiency, reduce downcycling, and enhance the availability of high-quality secondary raw materials.

More information: https://trinamixsensing.com/application/textile-identification