Machine Vision for Recognizing Eco-Friendly and Chemical Ink Tags on Garment Labels for Recycling

  • Zhang Ping College of Creative Arts, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Wang Zhong hua College of Creative Arts, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Nurul Huda Mohd Din College of Creative Arts, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Asliza Aris College of Creative Arts, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Keywords: Sustainable fashion, Garment recycling, Machine vision, Image processing

Abstract

With the increasing demand for sustainable practices in the fashion industry, efficient garment recycling solutions have become essential. One significant challenge in this process is accurately distinguishing garments printed with eco-friendly inks from those printed with chemical-based inks. This study proposes a novel machine vision method for the automatic identification and classification of garments, based on the printing techniques used, as indicated on the garment labels. By embedding a unique ecological ink identifier in the garment's label, this approach leverages advanced image processing techniques to precisely detect and classify the ink type used in the garment's print. This method simplifies the recycling workflow by ensuring accurate classification, reducing manual labour, and improving the overall efficiency of the recycling process. The results demonstrate the feasibility of applying machine vision for garment recycling, the effectiveness of this method in accurately detecting and classifying the ink type used in garment prints, with a high level of precision. The proposed solution proves to be scalable, offering a practical way to enhance the efficiency of garment recycling systems. The integration of machine vision for ink classification in garment recycling holds significant potential for promoting eco-friendly practices in the fashion industry. This automated approach not only simplifies the recycling workflow but also contributes to the broader goal of sustainability by facilitating the proper sorting of garments based on their ink type.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Biyada, S., & Urbonavičius, J. (2025). Circularity in textile waste: challenges and pathways to sustainability. Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 100905.

Bonifazi, G., Gasbarrone, R., Palmieri, R., & Serranti, S. (2024). A characterization approach for end-of-life textile recovery based on short-wave infrared spectroscopy. Waste and Biomass Valorization, 15(3), 1725-1738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-023-02413-z

Cura, K., Rintala, N., Kamppuri, T., Saarimäki, E., & Heikkilä, P. (2021). Textile recognition and sorting for recycling at an automated line using near infrared spectroscopy. Recycling, 6(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling6010011

Furferi, R., & Servi, M. (2023). A Machine Vision-Based Algorithm for Color Classification of Recycled Wool Fabrics. Applied Sciences, 13(4), 2464

Hayta, P., Oktav, M., & Ateş Duru, Ö. (2022). An ecological approach to printing industry: Development of ecofriendly offset printing inks using vegetable oils and pine resin as renewable raw materials and evaluation of printability. Color Research & Application, 47(1), 164-171

Huang, X., Tan, Y., Huang, J., Zhu, G., Yin, R., Tao, X., & Tian, X. (2024). Industrialization of open- and closed-loop waste textile recycling towards sustainability: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 436, 140676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140676

Ingle, N., & Jasper, W. J. (2025). A review of deep learning and artificial intelligence in dyeing, printing and finishing. Textile Research Journal, 95(5-6), 625-657. https://doi.org/10.1177/00405175241268619

Juanga-Labayen, J. P., Labayen, I. V., & Yuan, Q. (2022). A review on textile recycling practices and challenges. Textiles, 2(1), 174-188.

Li, W., Wei, Z., Liu, Z., Du, Y., Zheng, J., Wang, H., Zhang, S. (2021). Qualitative identification of waste textiles based on near-infrared spectroscopy and the back propagation artificial neural network. Textile Research Journal, 91(21–22), 2459-2467. https://doi.org/10.1177/00405175211007516

Luo, Y., Song, K., Ding, X., & Wu, X. (2021). Environmental sustainability of textiles and apparel: A review of evaluation methods. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 86, 106497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2020.106497

Manivannan, C., Panneerselvan, L., Nachimuthu, G., Conaty, M., & Palanisami, T. (2025). Eco-innovative approaches for recycling non-polyester/cotton blended textiles. Waste Management Bulletin, 3(1), 255-270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wmb.2025.02.001

Tian, R., Lv, Z., Fan, Y., Wang, T., Sun, M., & Xu, Z. (2024). Qualitative classification of waste garments for textile recycling based on machine vision and attention mechanisms. Waste Management, 183, 74-86.

Zhou, Q., Le, Q. V., Meng, L., Yang, H., Gu, H., Yang, Y., Chen, X., Lam, S. S., Sonne, C., & Peng, W. (2022). Environmental perspectives of textile waste, environmental pollution, and recycling. Environmental Technology Reviews, 11(1), 62-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622515.2021.2017000

Zhuang, H., Lin, Z., Yang, Y., & Toh, K. A. (2025). An analytic formulation of convolutional neural network learning for pattern recognition. Information Sciences, 686, 121317.

Published
2025-05-04
How to Cite
Ping, Z., hua, W., Din, N. and Aris, A. (2025) “Machine Vision for Recognizing Eco-Friendly and Chemical Ink Tags on Garment Labels for Recycling”, Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 10(4), p. e003355. doi: 10.47405/mjssh.v10i4.3355.
Section
Articles