#Recycling / Circular Economy

2022-05-12

Inditex signs a three-year commitment to buy Infinna™ upcycled textile fiber for over €100 million

Inditex and Infinited Fiber Company today announced a new partnership with the shared goal of advancing new and innovative technologies towards textile-to-textile circular loop. At the core of this partnership is Inditex´s three-year commitment to buy 30% of Infinited Fiber Company's annual future production volume of Infinna™, a textile fiber that can be created from 100% textile waste –a deal valued at more than €100 million.

• This purchasing commitment is significant for Infinited Fiber Company’s plans to scale up its recycling technology through its first large-capacity factory

• As part of this collaboration, Zara has today launched a capsule collection using this innovative high-quality fiber, which is created from clothing waste

This purchase commitment is significant for Infinited Fiber’s plans to scale up its recycling technology through its first large-capacity factory, which it expects to begin operations in 2024, when Inditex is due to start to buying Infinna™.

This collaboration is part of Inditex’s Sustainability Innovation Hub, an open-innovation platform that works alongside start-ups, academic institutions and tech centers to promote and scale innovative initiatives for new materials, technologies and processes that reduce the environmental footprint of fashion products and help in the advance towards more sustainable and circular solutions. Infinited Fiber has developed an innovative solution to turn cellulose-rich materials, such as worn-out, cotton-rich clothes, into a new trademarked fiber called Infinna™ that looks and feels like cotton and can be recycled again in the same process together with other textile waste. With this new fiber, Inditex will be able to continue to minimize the use of virgin materials and advance the move towards a more circular model of clothing production.

As part of this agreement, Zara is also launching today this first-of-its-kind capsule, with most of its materials produced from clothing sourced in collaboration with the Spanish NGO Cáritas, Zara’s clothing collection program partner. The collection embraces Zara’s fashion-forward styles along with Infinited Fiber Company’s innovative textile waste regeneration technology. On May 12th, the capsule will be available worldwide on Zara.com.

“We truly believe innovation is key for the competitive circular future of the fashion industry, which is why we are actively working to find solutions, and searching for new partnerships, processes and materials to achieve textile-to-textile recycling. Collaborating with others in new innovative initiatives -such as Next Generation fibers like Infinna™ - is vital to carrying out the transformation our industry needs”, said Javier Losada, Inditex Chief Sustainability Officer.

Petri Alava, CEO and cofounder of Infinited Fiber Company, said: “Inditex is one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, and this deal is a significant step towards realizing our ambition of making Infinna™ a mainstream textile material of the future. It is such a joy to see the beautifully designed pieces created from sustainably produced upcycled fiber now brought to market for the enjoyment of Zara’s customers. They are yet another demonstration of the versatility of Infinna™, and of what can be achieved when great technology is combined with great design. We look forward to continuing the collaboration with Inditex to make textile circularity an everyday reality.”

Inditex will fund the university education of 50 female textile industry workers in Bangladesh for five years

Inditex and the Asian University for Women have launched a new scholarship program to support the academic training of female textile factory workers in Bangladesh. Inditex will allocate €3.75 million to fund this initiative, enabling 50 women to access pre-university and university education over the next five years, providing them with new opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Inditex reports strong Q1 2024 performance

Inditex's sales grew by 7.1% in Q1 2024, reaching €8.2 billion. Sales in constant currency rose by 10.6%. Gross profit increased by 7.3% to €4.9 billion, with a gross margin of 60.6%. Operating expenses increased by 6.4%, below the sales growth rate. EBITDA rose by 8% to €2.4 billion, while EBIT grew by 10.3% to €1.6 billion. Net income saw a 10.8% increase, reaching €1.3 billion.

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.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.

Dedicated car seat model of SHIMA SEIKI’s P-CAM® R Cutting Machine unveiled

Leading Japanese textile solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, showed a special version of its P-CAM® R multi-ply computerized cutting machine dedicated to the production of car seats for the first time, at a private exhibition held over two days on Thursday, July 2nd and Friday, July 3rd at the Kariya City Industrial Promotion Center in Aichi Prefecture.

Katharina Obergruber appointed to the Management Board of Sandler AG

The Supervisory Board of Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to the company’s Management Board. Effective September 1, 2026, the Board will consist of Philipp Ebbinghaus (CEO), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (currently CCO, future COO), and Katharina Obergruber (CCO). Katharina Obergruber, currently Chief Sales Officer Hygiene and member of the Management Team of Sandler AG, will assume responsibility for all sales activities as Chief Commercial Officer. She will assume this role from Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck, who will focus primarily on production and supply chain topics.

DyStar releases FY2025 sustainability report, marking a new milestone towards its 2030 targets

DyStar, a leading specialty chemicals company with more than a century of expertise in product development and innovation, today announced the release of its FY2025 Sustainability Report, marking a significant milestone in its sustainability journey and reinforcing its commitment to long-term value creation.