Item: Polo. Ralph Lauren. Cotton. Dark blue. Lightly used. Price: €25.
From Textile Recycling to Second-Hand Clothing
Hypersort builds on years of investment in machine vision and artificial intelligence. Valvan previously applied this expertise in technologies such as Fibersort®, which identifies and sorts textiles based on fibre composition, colour and structure, and Trimclean®, which removes buttons, zippers, labels and other unwanted elements from recyclable textile streams.
With Hypersort, Valvan brings this knowledge to the second-hand market, where garments are still often assessed manually. Using advanced camera technology and AI-driven analysis, the system evaluates each garment individually. It can identify attributes such as brand, category and style, suggest a resale price and link the information to a unique digital record. The result is more consistent pricing, improved inventory management and full traceability throughout the sorting process.
The Next Step in the Circular Textile Value Chain
The textile industry is increasingly shifting its focus from recycling to maximising reuse. Every garment that remains in circulation for longer reduces the need for recycling and extends the value of existing textile resources. As second-hand markets continue to grow worldwide, operators are challenged to process larger volumes efficiently without compromising quality.
Hypersort addresses this challenge by combining automation, data and artificial intelligence in a single solution. It enables sorting facilities to increase throughput while maintaining consistency and transparency. At the same time, it expands Valvan’s expertise into a new segment of the circular textile economy, complementing the company’s existing recycling and sorting technologies.
More Than Fifty Years of Innovation from Menen
Founded in Menen in 1968, Valvan evolved from a manufacturer of flax processing machinery and baling presses into an international developer of sorting, recycling and automation technologies. Today, the company provides innovative solutions to customers across the globe and plays an active role in advancing circular textile systems.
Valvan is part of the Valtech Group, a West Flemish industrial group owned and managed by the Vandeputte family.
