#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-09-09

Unifi publishes 2021 Sustainability Report

Unifi, Inc. (NYSE: UFI), one of the world’s leading innovators in recycled and synthetic yarns, continues its commitment to sustainability and transparency through the publication of its latest sustainability report.

Providing additional transparency and clarity For the Good of Tomorrow

“Unifi’s commitment to environmental, social and governance responsibility is at the forefront of everything we do,” said Meredith Boyd, Senior Vice President of Technology, Innovation & Sustainability. “This latest sustainability report highlights the hard work our organization has put into the last year, making it one of our most impactful years since our founding a half century ago. We invested in technology and product development that prioritized reducing our environmental impact and took even further steps toward sustainability through enhanced transparency.”

Key accomplishments and highlights for the 2021 sustainability report include:

• Investing in Sustainability - Unifi is prioritizing new, innovative products and processes to reduce total energy and water impacts throughout the life cycles of both Unifi’s products and those of its customers.

• Achieving Further Sustainability Scoring - Unifi’s pledge to continue using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on its products provides the company a pathway to further reduce the environmental impact for customers, brands, and end-consumers.

• Building the REPREVE® Portfolio – Sales of Unifi’s flagship recycled brand continue to grow quarter over quarter, emphasizing the promise to lower-impact materials.

• 2021 Diversity Champions – Unifi was honored as the 2021 Diversity Champion by the University of North Carolina School of Law’s Director Diversity Initiative, highlighting Unifi’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

• Pursuit of Zero Waste to Landfill Manufacturing – Six of Unifi’s seven owned and operated facilities achieved zero waste to landfill.

• A Culture of Safety – Unifi’s Total Recordable Incident Rate continues to stay below 1.0, a testament to its people promoting and embracing a safe work culture.

• Alignment with Global Standards - Unifi provides in-progress Global Reporting Initiative and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board disclosure grids in the appendix of the sustainability report.

“As a global leader in textile solutions, we have a responsibility to be a vocal and engaged participant in the pursuit of a better future for people and our planet,” said Eddie Ingle, Chief Executive Officer. “I’m proud of the significant progress we have made over the last year, including taking further steps towards our goal of recycling 30 billion bottles from landfills in 2022. Through strategic innovation in our processes and the inherent ingenuity of our people, we’ll continue making progress towards our vision of working today for the good of tomorrow.”

“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.

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.

Recover™ and Ünteks Group partner to scale recycled cotton in knitwear

Recover(TM), a global producer of low‐impact, high‐quality recycled cotton fiber, announces a new partnership with Ünteks Group, a vertically integrated textile manufacturer based in Turkey. The collaboration focuses on the development of circular knit fabrics and garments, combining Recover’s recycled cotton fiber with Ünteks Group’s integrated capabilities across knitting, dyeing, printing, and garment production.

ALADIN paves the way for circular and demand-driven textile production in Europe

Textile production can be organized sustainably by utilizing short supply chains and preventing overproduction. This can already be achieved today by intelligently connecting and efficiently utilizing existing infrastructure. At the same time, production becomes circular when innovative technologies and materials are used that enable high-quality recycling. The ALADIN research project, launched in May 2026 and co-funded with five million euros under the EU Horizon Europe program, is creating the conditions for this.

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

Rieter sees Barmag integration on track as orders and sales rise

The first half of 2026 was shaped by the successful completion of the largest acquisition in Rieter’s history. The Man-Made Fiber Division enables entry into the growth segment of man-made fibers and sustainably strengthens Rieter’s market position in the Asia region. The expanded Group is now the world’s leading system supplier for the processing of natural and man-made fibers. In the first half of the year, initial cost savings in material costs and operating expenses have already been realized. The targeted synergies are expected to amount to at least CHF 20 million by the end of the 2028 financial year. Due to the completion of the acquisition on February 2, 2026, the first half of the year for the Man-Made Fiber Division only amounts to five months.