#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-11-18

H&M Group launches circular design tool “Circulator”

H&M Group is on a journey to become circular and climate positive. With the launch of an innovative circular design tool “Circulator”, H&M Group underlines its ambition to have all its products designed for circularity by 2025. The tool not only aims to enable H&M Group’s own teams to create products fit for a circular economy but will in the long-term invite others to do the same.

By 2025, H&M Group aims to have 100% of its brands’ products designed for circularity – from the drawing board all the way through the multiple loops of a circular ecosystem. The Circulator shall raise awareness and reduce the complexity and subjectivity of circular design decisions. It has been developed with guidance of a broad range of internal and external experts, such as Global Change Award winner circular.fashion, and will support the realisation of Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision of a circular fashion industry. By making the tool available to others in the coming years, H&M Group wants to equally share and gather knowledge and learnings with others, to jointly support the industry’s transition towards a circular economy.

We contributed to the development of the Circulator with our experience of circular design and recycling projects, as well as insights from our developed tools and frameworks such as our Circular Design Criteria and Scoring and we are excited about this exchange, amplifying each other’s expertise, experiences and tools to arrive at common industry consensus on product circularity, actionable solutions and leverage collaborative impact.

Jonna Haeggblom, Circular Design Strategy Lead at circular.fashion

We need to transform how we design and produce our products in order to meet our ambitious circular and climate goals. We also recognize the need to accelerate industry transformation and the Circulator tool will support both. Collaboration is the only way forward and we want to show leadership in the transition towards circular fashion.

Helena Helmersson, CEO H&M Group

The Circulator consists of two parts: a downloadable guide and a digital scoring tool. With the first launch of the downloadable guide in autumn 2021, H&M Group wants to invite everyone to co-create and learn together. The feedback and practical learnings from this first launch phase of the tool will contribute to the development of the scoring tool, which will be launched in the coming years and piloted with industry partners. With PVH Corp. and ASOS we already have strong partners on our side that share our ambitions to drive change in this space through industry collaboration.

To enable a real industry change, we need to collaborate and jointly work on innovative solutions. We feel the sense of urgency, which our industry as a whole is facing, and we want to learn together to fast track the industry’s transition to a circular economy. We value progress over perfection – we know we don’t have all the answers, but we will learn on the way and it’s time to turn words into action.

Sarah Hayes, Business Expert for Circularity at H&M Group

Offering customers easy and assessable ways to prolong the lifecycle of their clothes has been on H&M Group’s agenda for a while but circular thinking starts way before that. All our brands have their own in-house design teams who share the mission to create new inspiring designs and products that allow our customers to enjoy fashion in a more sustainable way. Making conscious choices is part of every decision making along the design process of a garment, focusing on three main impact areas: environmental impact, durability and recyclability. A process that is now simplified and supported by this innovative digital tool.

We see our teams experiencing a real a-ha moment when they use this tool. Being part of the industry, we’re all increasingly aware of its negative impact on the environment and the challenges our planet is facing. Being able to take practical steps to change how products are made and used and contributing to our climate goals is really empowering.

Sarah Hayes, Business Expert for Circularity at H&M Group

By the end of 2021, H&M will launch a complete collection of clothes which have been designed with the help of the tool.

Texprocess 2026: Automation, digitalisation and AI redefine textile processing

Making investment decisions in textile processing has become significantly more demanding. Increasing energy costs, a shortage of skilled labour and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties are compelling companies to focus on technologies that deliver clear gains in efficiency and process reliability. This applies equally to apparel manufacturing and to the processing of technical textiles and high-performance materials. As a result, modernisation initiatives are assessed more carefully – even as the need to upgrade production systems continues to intensify.

Techtextil 2026: Between innovation pressure & market reality

From 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil in Frankfurt am Main will once again become the central meeting point for the international technical textiles and nonwovens industry. Running in parallel, Texprocess will focus on the industrial implementation of textile processing technologies as the leading platform in this field. Together, the two trade fairs form a closely integrated presentation and working platform along the entire textile value chain – from material development to finished applications.

Between geopolitical pressure and industrial resilience

In this interview, Dr. Janpeter Horn (VDMA) discusses the current challenges facing textile machinery manufacturers, shaped by geopolitical tensions, regulatory developments and subdued investment. He also outlines why innovation strength, integrated solutions and strategic positioning remain key to global competitiveness.

Solving the Feedstock Gap: Unlocking Post-consumer Feedstocks for Textile-to-Textile Recycling in Europe

Fashion for Good launches Project FAE (Feedstock Activation Europe) to develop the sorting and pre-processing infrastructure needed to channel non-rewearable post-consumer textiles into textile-to-textile (T2T) recycling at scale. The project is a practical response to one of the most pressing problems in textile circularity: making post-consumer waste a viable, commercially competitive raw material for recyclers.

BASF at Techtextil 2026: Helping to shape the future of the textile industry with tangible solutions

At the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens from April 21 to 24, 2026 at the Messe Frankfurt, BASF will present numerous solutions and new projects in the textile sector to customers and partners at booth B 68 in hall 11.0. The focus is on product innovations and future-oriented technologies.

RE&UP partners with Madewell and ISKO on textile-to-textile denim capsule

RE&UP Recycling Technologies is accelerating the shift toward a closed-loop textile economy through a collaboration with American denim brand Madewell and global fabric manufacturer ISKO. By transforming approximately 20,000 pairs of post-consumer jeans into recycled feedstock for a textile-to-textile denim capsule, RE&UP demonstrates the commercial viability of circular systems in the denim sector.

Syre and JEPLAN Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Textile-to-Textile Recycling

JEPLAN, INC. the Japanese pioneer developing and operating chemical recycling technologies for circularity in packaging and textiles, and Syre, the textile impact company on a mission to hyperscale textile-to-textile recycling, announced today a strategic partnership. Together, the companies aim to extensively accelerate the timeline towards commercialization of next generation textile-to-textile polyester recycling technology.

Kornit Digital expands digital production into footwear and technical textiles with Presto MAX PLUS

Kornit Digital (NASDAQ: KRNT) (“Kornit” or the “Company”), a global pioneer in sustainable, on-demand digital fashion and textile production, today unveiled the Kornit Presto MAX PLUS, a new roll-to-roll system expanding digital manufacturing into footwear, automotive interiors, military camouflage, high-performance sportswear, and high-end furnishings. Debuting at Texprocess 2026 in Frankfurt, Presto MAX PLUS enables entirely new applications for on-demand textile production.

Covestro, FILK Freiberg, and OUT e.V. develop flexible, conductive polymer smart textile system

As the smart textiles market continues to grow across healthcare, personal protection, sportswear, and automotive applications, developers are seeking new ways to integrate electronic functionality directly into textiles, without the rigidity and complexity of conventional wiring. To address this challenge, FILK Freiberg Institute, an independent research institution with expertise in polymer coatings for textile applications, collaborated with Optotransmitter-Umweltschutz-Technologie (OUT) e.V. The joint project, funded under the German Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung (IGF) program of the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE), focused on developing flexible, conductive polymer surfaces for next-generation smart textiles.