#Recycling / Circular Economy

2025-08-20

matterr welcomes BESTSELLER as new investor to scale polyester recycling

matterr, the German cleantech company pioneering polyester recycling, announces a strategic partnership with family-owned international fashion group BESTSELLER. The investment, made through BESTSELLER’s innovation and investment platform Invest FWD, follows a major EU commitment of 30 million euros in public support through the EFRE/JTF program in North Rhine-Westphalia. Together, these milestones lay the foundation for matterr’s first small-scale industrial plant and the subsequent international scale-up of its technology.

Breaking down polyester, integrating it seamlessly into existing supply chains

matterr has developed an innovative technology for the chemical recycling of polyester from hard-to-recycle textiles and packaging waste. The process delivers drop-in ready raw materials, identical to virgin quality, and is now set to scale.

(c) 2025 - matterr and BESTSELLER collaborate to scale polyester recycling. matterr has developed an innovative technology for the chemical recycling of polyester from hard-to-recycle textiles and packaging waste, delivering drop-in ready raw materials, identical to virgin quality.

By replacing virgin PET production from fossil feedstocks, it substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions – making a direct contribution to industrial decarbonisation.

Industrial deployment in Germany

With combined financial support from the EU and BESTSELLER, matterr will start building its small-scale industrial plant in Germany in 2026. Once completed, the facility is designed to process 10,000 tonnes of polyesterrich waste annually, creating a reliable source of drop-in ready feedstock for the textile and packaging industries. “Scaling breakthrough technologies requires strong and pragmatic partners,” says Melanie Hackler, CEO of matterr. “With BESTSELLER, we share not only mindset and values, but also the belief that drop-in ready, scalable and economically viable solutions are the business models of the future. This partnership accelerates our mission to make polyester a resource that can be recycled repeatedly.”

A shared ambition to transform the industry

For BESTSELLER, the investment aligns with its broader ambition to decouple from fossil resources and increase the use of recycled materials in fashion. Through Invest FWD, BESTSELLER has invested more than DKK 200 million in innovative companies aiming to create the materials of the future and drive systemic change. “matterr is a young company with an interesting solution that aims to be implemented on a large scale to benefit the entire fashion industry. We believe in the scalability of their technology as well as the commercial potential of the company. This can ensure the right impact in the long run. BESTSELLER has clear ambitions to reduce dependency from fossil sources, and utilisation of recycled polyester is a crucial component in achieving this,” says Dorte Rye Olsen, Head of Sustainability,

BESTSELLER. “Moreover, our investments in innovative recycling technologies align with the fashion industry’s vision of transforming consumers' worn-out garments into raw materials for new clothing. Given the vast number of garments used globally today, it is essential that we take on our responsibility and utilise discarded materials repeatedly.”

By joining forces, matterr and BESTSELLER demonstrate how collaboration between technology innovators and global brands can unlock the needed transition.

matterr at K – Where innovation meets industry

At this year’s K trade fair, matterr took the stage to showcase its technology and demonstrate how it drives circular polyester at an industrial scale. Insightful conversations, strong new connections, and great energy — all together reminds how powerful it is when innovation meets industry. The momentum from Düsseldorf shows: circular transformation is no longer a vision — it’s happening.

Recycling pioneer matterr to build plant at Chemiepark Knapsack

matterr is establishing operations at Chemiepark Knapsack. The planned small-scale industrial depolymerisation plant will be located in the Hürth section of the site and will have an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes. The facility marks an important step toward a fossil-free, circular PET industry. Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2026.

Indorama Ventures advances circularity tthrough PETValue Philippines' “Zero Waste to Landfill Partnership” with Republic Cement

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, a global sustainable chemical company, is advancing the circular economy through a new Zero Waste to Landfill initiative at its recycling site PETValue Philippines, further demonstrating how collaboration across industries can maximize resource efficiency and reduce waste.

Networking Day 2026: Industry stakeholders unite around textile recycling

In 2026, the Industry Research Group (IRG) Polymer Recycling once again brought together some of the key stakeholders in textile recycling for its annual Networking Day. This year, the event took place at EREMA’s premises in Ansfelden, Austria. It brought together key players from across the textile recycling value chain for a day of structured exchange and in-depth discussions.

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.

SHIMA SEIKI brings new flat knitting technologies to FEBRATEX 2026

Leading flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Brazilian representative BRASTEMA TECNOLOGIA TEXTIL LTDA., will exhibit at the Brazilian Textile Industry Fair (FEBRATEX 2026) this month. On display will be a roundup of SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting technology, represented by WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines, computerized flat knitting machines featuring a brand-new model with high productivity and excellent cost performance, a glove knitting machine and the latest digital solutions.

Lenzing reports improved half-year results and advances strategic transformation

Despite a persistently challenging market environment in the first half of 2026, characterized by volatile energy and raw material prices, subdued global consumer demand and intensified competition from Asia, the Lenzing Group significantly improved its financial performance. Net result after tax more than doubled to EUR 35.6 million, compared with EUR 15.2 million in the first half of 2025. Free cash flow increased to EUR 45.8 million, while EBITDA amounted to EUR 239.2 million. Revenue totaled EUR 1.27 billion, compared with EUR 1.34 billion in the previous year.

Trützschler’s latest spinning and card clothing innovations at CAITME 2026

From September 8 to 10, 2026, Trützschler will present its latest innovations in spinning and card clothing for state-of-the-art fiber processing at CAITME in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Visitors are invited to meet the experts at Pavilion 2, Booth D50 and explore solutions designed to increase productivity, streamline processes, and ensure consistently high yarn quality. Key topics include the next-generation card TC 30i, the integrated draw frame IDF 3, the high-performance comber TCO 21XL as well as Trützschler Card Clothing’s new flat top series STEELTOP®.

BICO BCF yarn delivers impressive performance in field testing

In a joint development project with other partners, Barmag and Object Carpet have successfully tested BICO BCF yarn in the carpet manufacturing process. The results show that this innovative yarn technology offers significant performance advantages and opens up new possibilities for recycling-oriented carpet constructions.