#Recycling / Circular Economy

2024-06-06

Circle Economy and partners launch new textile 5R solutions project SOLSTICE

Launched on 28 May, 2024, the SOLSTICE project supports sustainable growth in the textile sector by raising customer awareness, enhancing recycling with new sorting methods, ensuring feedstock traceability using the Digital Product Passport, and providing data and guidelines to decision-makers. ?

Led by Axel’One, an open innovation platform in chemistry-environment in France, the SOLSTICE consortium is EU-wide and covering the whole value chain in textiles and plastics. The project spans 42 months, aiming at advancing climate-neutral and circular economy practices within the textile industry.

The SOLSTICE project is based on a holistic approach that encompasses all stages of waste prevention, guided by a 5R strategy: Reject/Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Reuse and Recycle. These solutions will be tested and refined in demonstrations conducted in 4 European cities and regions: Grenoble (France), Berlin (Germany), Prato (Italy), and Catalonia (Spain).

Partnering with businesses and clusters across the textile value chain are central to the SOLSTICE’s mission. Through these collaborations, SOLSTICE seeks to unlock concrete business opportunities to accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions that align with the circular economy.

As part of a consortium of 24 partners working on the project, Circle Economy will uncover the current state of circularity in textiles ecosystem as well as identify and inform the areas of immediate action, the choice of circular interventions and the design of replicable blueprints.

More information on the SOLSTICE project on its website: www.solstice-project.eu

Between 121 and 142 million people are employed in the circular economy globally, new study finds

Between 121 and 142 million people worldwide are employed in sectors that contribute to the circular economy, such as repair, recycling, second-hand trade and waste management. This represents roughly between 5 and 5.8 percent of total global employment (excluding agriculture), according to a new joint report by Circle Economy, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank Group, in partnership with the UN Partnership for Action on Green Economy (UN-PAGE).

Circulose welcomes Sara Diez Jauregui and Kalyan Madabhushi to its Board of Directors

Circulose is proud to announce the appointment of Sara Diez Jauregui and Kalyan Madabhushi to further strengthen its Board of Directors, following the recent appointment of Chair Helena Helmersson. These additions bring world-class expertise across the value chain: Sara offers extensive experience with leading fashion and apparel brands, while Kalyan brings a notable career at Aditya Birla Group, a global leader in cellulosic fiber production.

Successful pilot: biodegradable plastic produced from textile waste

The 'Design for Transformation' (D4T) pilot project, led by Circle Economy and the Biomimicry Institute, has developed an innovative technology to produce bioplastics and gaseous products from textile waste. This set of technologies aims to enable companies to generate additional revenue streams from waste, whilst diverting it from landfills or incineration.

From Montréal to Morocco: Circle Economy Foundation’s impact was global in 2023

Circle Economy Foundation is excited to announce the launch of the Impact Report 2023. Following a year of firsts for the organisation, they turned their attention inward to take stock of their impact across the three levers of their Theory of Change: Analyse, Act and Scale. Read on to see some of the highlights from 2023.

RE&UP contributes to Global Fashion Summit 2026 circularity discussion

RE&UP contributed to the global conversation on textile circularity at Global Fashion Summit 2026 in Copenhagen, where Fatih Konukoğlu, Chairman of RE&UP and Vice Chairman of Sanko Holding, took part in both the keynote session “The New Rules” and the panel discussion “A Reckoning and Renewal for Circular Horizons”, alongside leaders from H&M Group, Looper Textile Co. and Sourcing Journal.

Europe’s textile future at a turning point: New 2030 Circularity Blueprint aims to scale recycling and unlock investment opportunities

The EU textile system is at a critical crossroads. Today, less than 1% of discarded garments are recycled into new garments, despite EU-wide obligations for separate collection. In response, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is launching the 2030 Circularity Blueprint, in partnership with ReHubs. This ambitious initiative is designed to support the transformation of the EU textile ecosystem to advance textile-to-textile recycling and drive the transition to a circular economy.

Circulose and CTA announce collaboration to enable lyocell fibers using CIRCULOSE® pulp

Circulose has announced an agreement with China Textile Academy Green Fibre (CTA) to offer lyocell fibers produced using CIRCULOSE® pulp. Producing lyocell from recycled pulp at commercial scale is an important step in making textile-to-textile recycled materials available across a wider range of textile applications.

STFI highlights textile circular economy and alternative fibres at INDEX™ 2026

From 19 to 22 May 2026, INDEX will invite visitors to Lake Geneva for the world's leading nonwovens trade fair. The Centre of Excellence in Nonwovens at the Sächsisches Textilforschung- sinstitut e.V. (STFI) will be in attendance to present the latest developments in nonwovens research. In the field of the textile circular economy, the STFI will present acoustically effective nonwovens made from chemical recycling residues. The range also includes innovations aimed at replacing conventional raw materials, such as the biobased and biodegradable polymer polybutylene succinate (PBS) and Kendyr as an alternative to cotton.

FET’s revolutionary gel spinning system wins Techtextil Innovation Award

FET has received the prestigious Techtextil Innovation Award 2026 in the New Production Technology category. The Techtextil Innovation Award honours outstanding ideas in textile technology, sustainability, AI and the creation of technical textiles, selected by an international jury of experts. Ranging from new materials to new production technologies, this award recognises progressive ideas that are driving forces for numerous industries, such as automotive, medical and construction.