#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-12-02

Recover™ wins the Disruptor Award at the Drapers Award 2021 in its efforts to close the loop on fashion

Recover™, a recycled cotton fiber producer that has been pioneering sustainable materials and recycling since 1947, was presented with the Disruptor Award at the Drapers Award 2021. The company was recognized thanks to its disruptive business model, which aims to scale its recycled cotton fiber production to help more brands meet their sustainable goals and achieve circular fashion for all.

For its 30th edition, Drapers Awards 2021 celebrates the retailers, brands, suppliers, and agencies that have innovated to survive, and built stronger businesses under the toughest of circumstances in the fashion industry. Recover™ was honored with the Disruptor Award, which recognizes the new or disruptive business models that are rising to prominence in the UK and Irish fashion industry, with judges commenting that Recover™ was “very, very impressive” and offered a solution that many fashion retailers could use.

Recover™ is a fourth-generation family-owned company with a 70-year long history in textile recycling and that uses textile waste from post-industrial and post-consumer origins as raw material to produce its low-impact, high-quality fiber. Replacing 1kg of cotton with Recover™ recycled cotton saves up to 14,740 litres of water, 1.1kg of pollutants and 23kg of CO2 emissions.

Recover´s innovative business model aims make its recycled fiber available to any brand in the fashion industry as seen with its successful partnership with Primark in 2021, and is confronting the challenges of scalability and circularity in the fashion industry head on. To meet growing demand and help brands meet their sustainable goals, the company aims scale its production to 200,000 metric tons of recycled cotton fiber per year by 2025. This will save nearly three trillion liters of water each year, equivalent to the drinking water consumed by 3 billion people on an annual basis and allow 500,000 acres of land to be directed away from cotton cultivation for other uses.

“We are thrilled to receive the Disruptor Award at this year’s Drapers Award, recognizing Recover™ as a committed agent of change in the fashion industry”, said Alfredo Ferre, CEO at Recover™. “Through collaborating closely with brands and retailers, and scaling our fiber production, our aim is to bring sustainable fashion closer to the consumer and achieve circular fashion for all”.

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.

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.

Europe’s textile future at a turning point: New 2030 Circularity Blueprint aims to scale recycling and unlock investment opportunities

The EU textile system is at a critical crossroads. Today, less than 1% of discarded garments are recycled into new garments, despite EU-wide obligations for separate collection. In response, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is launching the 2030 Circularity Blueprint, in partnership with ReHubs. This ambitious initiative is designed to support the transformation of the EU textile ecosystem to advance textile-to-textile recycling and drive the transition to a circular economy.

Circulose and CTA announce collaboration to enable lyocell fibers using CIRCULOSE® pulp

Circulose has announced an agreement with China Textile Academy Green Fibre (CTA) to offer lyocell fibers produced using CIRCULOSE® pulp. Producing lyocell from recycled pulp at commercial scale is an important step in making textile-to-textile recycled materials available across a wider range of textile applications.

Barmag and Neumag showcase innovations across all manmade fiber processes

For the first time, Barmag is presenting itself alongside its new parent company, Rieter: At this year’s ITM in Istanbul, both companies will be represented from June 9 to 13 at the Tüyap Fair Convention and Congress Center in Hall 7, Booth 702B. As a technology leader in the field of chemical fiber equipment, Barmag will showcase its entire portfolio of systems for filament yarn, staple fiber, and nonwoven production, as well as solutions for the networked factory.

Walter Reiners Foundation Prize awarded to three ITA graduates

Sabina Dann, Lukas Balon and Annegret Storm from the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University were awarded the Walter Reiners Foundation Prize by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) for their master’s and bachelor’s theses. Peter Dornier, Chairman of the Walter Reiners Foundation, presented the awards during Techtextil at the VDMA stand in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.