#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-08-19

Wired features Infinited Fiber on its hottest startups list

Global tech publication Wired has included Infinited Fiber Company in its lineup of this year’s 100 Hottest Startups in Europe. The list celebrates the startup scene across Europe, highlighting the success, innovation and investment happening throughout the continent.

Finland was one of the few European countries to have seen growth in the amount of capital poured into tech startups in 2020. Finnish gaming company Supercell CEO and co-founder, Ilkka Paananen, believes that Finland is “the best place in the world” to found a startup, thanks in part to the high quality of living, which is increasingly appealing to international talent.

Infinited Fiber Company is thrilled to be included in the Hottest Startups in Helsinki list, along with many other innovative companies that span a wide range of sectors, including IQM, developers of quantum computing hardware, Gubbe, who organise elderly care by connecting the families of the elderly with students, Flowrite, a language generation browser extension, and sustainable packaging company Sulapac. A key commonality in Finland’s list is the focus on sustainability.

“We’re delighted and grateful to be included in Wired’s list of the hottest startups in Europe. We want to bring joy and hope back into fashion by helping to make circularity an everyday reality in the textile industry. Wired is a globally renowned publication, and this recognition provides a great platform to increase awareness for Infinited Fiber Company’s technology for regenerating high-quality textile fibers from textile waste,” said Petri Alava, Infinited Fiber Company co-founder and CEO.

Infinited Fiber Company features on the list as a result of its unique recycling technology and the resulting regenerated textile fiber, Infinna™, which enables circularity in textiles. Wired also cites Infinited Fiber's aim to renew excitement in fashion for environmentally-conscious customers, which has garnered investment from leading global fashion brands such as H&M Group, adidas, BESTSELLER and Patagonia.

Infinited Fiber Company hopes its inclusion on the list will lead to more people recognizing the importance of shifting towards a circular economy and the innovation happening to make textile circularity an everyday reality.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Geotextiles made from recycled materials: GREEN leads the way into the industry

For the industry, recycled materials are creating new opportunities in geotextile production. In the GREEN project, the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE demonstrates that recycled polypro-pylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and high-density polyeth-ylene (HDPE) can be processed into nonwovens, fibers, and membranes that meet industrial requirements. This creates opportunities for use in existing production lines and new value chains in the geotextile market.

ReHubs elects new Board of Directors to lead the next phase of ReHubs’ strategy to recycle 2.7 million tonnes of textile waste annually by 2035

ReHubs has elected its new Board of Directors, marking an important milestone as the industry alliance continues to accelerate the industrial scale-up of textile-to-textile recycling across Europe. The election took place during the ReHubs Annual Event in Brussels on June 23rd, held alongside the Textile Recycling Expo and Future Fabrics Expo. The newly elected Board combines expertise from across the textile value chain, reflecting ReHubs' collaborative approach to solving the industry’s textile waste crises.

Reju opens its first R&D Center in the U.S. in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania

Reju, the company specializing in textile regeneration, today announced the opening of a Research and Development (R&D) Center in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the company's first proprietary research center in North America. Located within Technip Energies' existing Advanced Materials and Catalysts research center, the lab will allow Reju to accelerate the rollout of its recycling technologies and develop its next-generation circular solutions.

Ibrahim Fibres and Trützschler: A strong partnership enters its next phase with the TC 30Si

For more than two decades, Ibrahim Fibres and Trützschler have grown side by side, driven by a shared ambition to continuously improve spinning performance, strengthen technology leadership and set new benchmarks in the textile industry. Today, Ibrahim Fibres is a leading yarn and polyester staple fiber manufacturer in Pakistan. The company operates the largest number of Trützschler cards in the country, with more than 200 machines running across its mills in Faisalabad, and plays an important role in one of Asia’s largest textile industries.