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#Recycling / Circular Economy

Circle Economy announces change of COO

Circle Economy announces that as of today, Maria Grazia Testa, Circle Economy’s current COO, will step down, handing over her responsibilities to Ivonne Bojoh, currently Director Digital and interim COO. Circle Economy wishes to thank Maria for her gracious and invaluable support to the organisation.

Robert-Jan van Ogtrop, Founder & Chairman of the Supervisory Board: “We thank Maria for her wonderful contribution. Under her guidance, the operations and strategy of our foundation have improved in stability, efficiency, and financial resilience. Great examples of Maria’s contribution are the set-up of a centralised PMO team, a robust reporting framework, and an expansive process library enabling operational efficiency. In addition, she has implemented solid end to end HR, financial and legal structures and processes. Maria leaves Circle Economy in a strong position – both from an operational and a project execution perspective. Together with the management team, Maria has taken Circle Economy to a more professional and stronger performance which ensures the foundation can continue to deliver on its impact goals. We are grateful to Maria and wish her all the best.”

Maria will continue to support and be engaged with Circle Economy as an ambassador for the organisation and as a valued member of its Alumni Community.

Maria Grazia Testa:

”I joined Circle Economy in 2018 when the organisation still felt like a little family on a mission on behalf of Mother Earth, with many trail blazing activities streaming relentlessly from its committed hearts and enviably talented minds. Today the organisation has grown its impact thanks to the scalability at the core of its systemic, scientifically savvy and technically elegant, approach to a theme as central as sustainability. I am very proud that my experience could help bolstering this work with the deserved Strategic and Operational Excellence, and that our strive for continuous improvement has in turn gained the confident collaboration of many partners and funders, gathered around the same mission.




I would like to thank Circle Economy’s team, for their dedication to the SDGs, to the circular economy, to our planet and to social justice. Let’s see together that the vision this planet deserves is accomplished.

My quest to be a multiplier for the good and the brave, leading organisations in transition, cultivating leadership, and magnifying human potential, will continue through my new project, The Best Journey Ever. If you would like to know more, keep in touch or be involved, follow me there.”

In January 2023, Circle Economy, along with its partners, will launch the “Circularity Gap Report" for the 6th time.



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#Recycling / Circular Economy

Between 121 and 142 million people are employed in the circular economy globally, new study finds

Between 121 and 142 million people worldwide are employed in sectors that contribute to the circular economy, such as repair, recycling, second-hand trade and waste management. This represents roughly between 5 and 5.8 percent of total global employment (excluding agriculture), according to a new joint report by Circle Economy, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank Group, in partnership with the UN Partnership for Action on Green Economy (UN-PAGE).

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Circulose welcomes Sara Diez Jauregui and Kalyan Madabhushi to its Board of Directors

Circulose is proud to announce the appointment of Sara Diez Jauregui and Kalyan Madabhushi to further strengthen its Board of Directors, following the recent appointment of Chair Helena Helmersson. These additions bring world-class expertise across the value chain: Sara offers extensive experience with leading fashion and apparel brands, while Kalyan brings a notable career at Aditya Birla Group, a global leader in cellulosic fiber production.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Successful pilot: biodegradable plastic produced from textile waste

The 'Design for Transformation' (D4T) pilot project, led by Circle Economy and the Biomimicry Institute, has developed an innovative technology to produce bioplastics and gaseous products from textile waste. This set of technologies aims to enable companies to generate additional revenue streams from waste, whilst diverting it from landfills or incineration.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Circle Economy and partners launch new textile 5R solutions project SOLSTICE

Launched on 28 May, 2024, the SOLSTICE project supports sustainable growth in the textile sector by raising customer awareness, enhancing recycling with new sorting methods, ensuring feedstock traceability using the Digital Product Passport, and providing data and guidelines to decision-makers. ?

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#Recycling / Circular Economy

HKRITA signs MoU with Jeanologia and Looptworks to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) yesterday officially signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two key global partners, Jeanologia and Looptworks, to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem – a first-of-its-kind collaboration to accelerate the large-scale recycling of blended textiles.

#Spinning

Object Carpet tests production of rPET BCF yarn on Neumag BCF line

In a joint project with Object Carpet GmbH, Denkendorf; the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA), Augsburg; and Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR), Feldkirchen, Austria, Barmag investigated the processing of recycled polyester for BCF yarn. The goal was to evaluate the fundamental suitability of 100% recycled carpet material for reuse in carpet yarn production to create a closed-loop system in carpet manufacturing. To date, commercial rPET BCF processes have been based solely on rPET from bottle pellets.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Albany International reports progress with Cyclezyme on industrial textile recycling project

Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) reports continued progress in the ongoing project with Cyclezyme AB, a leader in advanced enzyme-based plastic recycling, based in Sweden. The project exemplifies leading edge innovation in materials science, focusing on the development of enzyme-based recycling of industrial textiles primarily consisting of polyester and polyamide, where there is currently a significant lack of effective solutions for circular material flows. The objective of the project is to establish enzymatic processes for depolymerization and recycling of technical textiles and high-performance industrial materials.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

The textile industry in transition

Recycling, traceability, eco-design and digitalisation are among the key future challenges facing the European textile industry. The Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity, involving 21 partners from twelve countries, is investigating the skills required to address these challenges. As the German industry partner, the Industry Association for Finishing – Yarns – Fabrics – Technical Textiles (IVGT) is bringing the industry’s perspective to the project.

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#Research & Development

2026 general meeting of the Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen at ITA

The Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen e. V. (proRWTH) looked back on a successful year of support at their 2026 general meeting. The meeting took place at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen and was combined with a joint session of the Executive Board and the Administrative Board. Before the general meeting began, participants were given a guided tour of ITA, providing them with fascinating insights into current research and development topics in textile engineering.

#Natural Fibers

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

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#Knitting & Hosiery

Footwear innovation enabled by warp knitting technology– insights from New Balance

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#Natural Fibers

Cashmere specialist joins AbTF Board of Trustees

The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is pleased to welcome Brian Yu, the chief executive officer of the Artwell Group, to its board of trustees. As CEO, Brian Yu developed Artwell into the world’s largest supplier of responsibly produced cashmere knitwear.

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