#Recycling / Circular Economy

2022-01-13

Institute welcomes new members to standards steering committee

The Institute is pleased to welcome Dr. Anna Lennquist, Senior Toxicologist at The International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec), and Dr. Nikola Juhasz, Global Technical Director for Sustainability at Sun Chemical, who have been appointed to the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute’s Standards Steering Committee by the Institute’s Board of Directors, as of 1 January 2022.

The appointments are the result of a thorough selection process that started in September 2021 with a public call for members.

The Committee is composed of technical and subject matter experts from a variety of stakeholder groups. The new appointments deepen the expertise of the Committee across all categories of the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Standard, bringing on board additional material health expertise. Below is a full list of current members:

• Sean Ansett - Founder, At Stake Advisors Limited

• Dr. Alain Casoli - Group R&D Regulatory Affairs Director, Tarkett

• Don Frey- Chief Innovation Officer, The Honest Company

• Annette Hastrup - Owner and CEO, Vugge til Vugge ApS

• Dr. Nikola Juhasz - Global Technical Director for Sustainability, Sun Chemical

• Dr. Anna Lennquist - Senior Toxicologist – The International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec)

• Dr. Jennifer Russell - Assistant Professor, Department of Sustainable Biomaterials, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

• Jimmy Summers - Vice President of Environment, Health, and Safety, and Chief Sustainability Officer, Elevate Textiles, Inc

• Tom Vereijken - Director, European Water Stewardship, Water Stewardship Academy BV

• Dr. Susan Klosterhaus - Vice President, Science and Certification, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute

The Standards Steering Committee is charged with providing oversight of the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard and is the main governance body for the standard.

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute verifies products and materials that are safe, circular and responsibly made by assessing sustainability performance across five categories: material health, product circularity, clean air and climate protection, water and soil stewardship, and social fairness. For more than a decade, leading brands, designers and manufacturers have relied on the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard to optimize products for immediate and long-term positive impacts on human and environmental health.

Learn more here about the Committee and its members:

https://www.c2ccertified.org/the-team/standards-steering-committee

“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.

Managed workwear services are providing a blueprint for the circular textile economy

Managed workwear service providers are demonstrating how commercial success and circularity can go hand in hand by extending garment lifespans through repair, laundering, reuse and recycling, according to “Managed workwear services—a circular textile economy ahead of the game”, a new 14‑page report from the global business information company Textiles Intelligence.

Eco-design as the foundation of circular textiles

Based on the results of an extensive European analysis, the Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity is currently developing three practice-based training modules covering recycling technologies, eco-design for the circular economy and sustainable manufacturing. This was preceded by a comprehensive company survey and a joint analysis conducted by the project partners under the leadership of IVGT. The results show that the greatest challenges lie not so much in a lack of technology as in skills gaps.

Usha Yarns secures growth equity investment from Fullerton Carbon Action Fund

Usha Yarns Limited (“Usha Yarns”), a producer of high-quality recycled yarns with advanced, well established production processes, announced a growth equity investment from the Fullerton Carbon Action Fund (“Fullerton”), a private equity strategy managed by Fullerton Fund Management that backs established mid-market companies across Emerging Asia to accelerate decarbonisation.

PERFORMANCE DAYS announces new focus topic & forums for October 2026

With its upcoming October 13–14, 2026 edition, PERFORMANCE DAYS is placing the spotlight on one of the textile industry’s most important transformations: “Bio-Based Materials – From Fiber to Fabric”, a two-part Focus Topic exploring the future of bio-based innovation across the textile value chain. Part 1, presented in October 2026, will focus on fibers and next-generation material developments, while Part 2 at the March 2027 edition will shift the perspective toward dyeing, finishing, additives, and processing technologies.

Febratex 2026 to be the largest edition of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas with 10 exhibition halls

Febratex 2026 will be the largest edition in the history of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas. Dedicated to the textile and apparel manufacturing industries, the event will take place from August 18–21, 2026, in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, with a strong focus on technology, sustainability, and business generation.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues field trip brings international stakeholders closer to Brazil’s cotton production chain

How do you build trust across the global textile value chain? By opening the farm gates. This is the principle behind the Cotton Brazil Dialogues. At the end of July, the programme welcomed its first group of international participants for a five-day immersion into Brazilian cotton production, combining field visits with technical workshops to showcase the quality, sustainability, innovation and traceability behind one of the world’s leading cotton origins.