#Recycling / Circular Economy

2025-03-27

PUMA and RE&UP announce a multi-year collaboration to scale circular textile solution

Sports company PUMA and RE&UP Recycling Technologies have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to scale a fully circular textile solution, transforming textile waste into RE&UP’s Next-Gen Recycled Cotton Fibers and Recycled Polyester Chips. Circularity is one of the focus areas of PUMA’s Vision 2030 sustainability goals and the company has already scaled up its RE:FIBRE textile-to-textile recycling program, producing millions of football jerseys made out of an increasing share of recycled textiles.

RE&UP has become a key Next-Gen raw material partner in the RE:FIBRE program supporting PUMA’s ambition to reduce reliance on bottle-recycled polyester, enhancing true circularity while minimizing textile waste. Due to its previous success, this collaboration has now evolved into a broader global commitment to fully enabling circularity.

As part of the expansion, PUMA will introduce RE:FIBRE to the Americas, leveraging RE&UP’s recycled raw materials within its local supply chain. Both companies have a long-term commitment to scaling sustainable solutions in the textile industry. By 2030, PUMA aims to use 30% fiber-to-fiber recycled polyester fabric for its apparel products. RE&UP’s revolutionary recycling technology is a key enabler of the circular transition of the industry, especially due to its unique capability to process diverse textile feedstocks, including post-consumer and post-industrial waste, as well as complex blended textiles like polycotton and polyester-elastane-materials, traditionally difficult to recycle.

Powered with 100% renewable energy and leveraging advanced technologies such as decolorization processes, RE&UP sets a new benchmark for sustainable, low-impact recycled textile fibers. “As part of our Vision 2030 goals, we want to have 30% of our polyester fabric in apparel fiber-to-fiber recycled by 2030 and our collaboration with RE&UP opens exciting possibilities for integrating virgin-equivalent recycled materials into our products,” said Howard Williams, Director Global Innovation Apparel & Accessories at PUMA. “These materials offer the performance we need while helping us achieve our circularity goals.”

“We are proud to elevate our collaboration with PUMA to the next level, building on our existing work through PUMA’s RE:FIBRE program,” said Özgür Atsan, Chief Commercial Officer at RE&UP.

“PUMA, as one of the most forward-thinking brands in the industry, shares our vision for closing the recycled material gap. The proven quality of our products, our ability to process diverse textile compositions, our annual capacity of 80,000 tons, and our commitment to renewable energy reinforces our mission to produce Next-Gen materials and establish circularity as the standard for the textile industry. We proudly define our products as Next-Gen materials, as they are designed to meet the needs of the next generation in the textile industry.”

Industrial scale meets verified governance: RE&UP is now B Corp™ certified

RE&UP, the circular-tech transforming global textile waste into high-volume Next-Gen materials, has officially become a Certified B Corporation™. The milestone establishes the industrial recycler among a select group of manufacturing infrastructure providers verified as meeting B Lab Standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

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.

EU ban on destroying unsold clothing and footwear now in force

The European Union's ban on the destruction of unsold clothing, clothing accessories and footwear has entered into force. Since July 19, 2026, large companies across the EU have been prohibited from destroying unsold textile products, while medium-sized companies will be required to comply with the same rules from 2030.

Rieter and partners launch Recycling Powerhouse for industrial-scale textile recycling

Recycling Powerhouse Ltd. was established in July 2026 to industrialize, standardize and scale textile recycling. Based in Switzerland, the venture will operate a franchise-driven business model that enables the production of high-quality, certified recycled yarns. The project is supported by the following partners: Rieter Group, the world’s leading system supplier for natural and man-made fibers, Säntis Textiles, a Swiss textile engineering company, and Valvan, a Belgian sorting technology company. The first blueprint franchise operation is scheduled to launch early 2027 in partnership with Suhail Industrial Holding Group in Qatar.

Eastman Naia™ brings its inside-out denim vision to Kingpins New York

Following its debut at Kingpins Amsterdam, Eastman Naia™ brings the next chapter of its denim story to Kingpins New York, taking place July 22–23. At Booth Green 7, Naia™ presents its denim proposition built around three complementary design directions: Performance Denim, Fashion Denim and Authentic Denim.

Contactless measurement of coating for Technical Textiles with PLEVA AF 310 and AF 120

Textiles used for protection and defense must perform reliably – whether they are protective garments, tents, tarpaulins, covers, or technical carrier materials. Properties such as flame resistance, water repellency, weather resistance, or defined air permeability are often only achieved through precise coating, finishing, or printing processes.