#Retail & Brands

2023-12-14

Chanel becomes Ellen MacArthur Foundation Network Partner

After joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as a Network Member last year, luxury French fashion house Chanel has now become a Partner. Over the next three years, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation will work closely with the house and support its circular economy journey.

Marking the start of the Partnership, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation helped design Chanel’s Circular Economy Hackathon in Paris — bringing together more than 200 employees, students, manufacturers, suppliers, and experts to raise awareness about the circular economy and explore how Chanel can support the transition from linear to circular.

Following its first Hackathon last year, on the theme of tackling plastic pollution, this year’s event focused on the circular economy. Organised by the fashion branch of the French house, the event was held at Chanel’s Rue Cambon headquarters last month.

Participants created their own circular economy solutions designed to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature.

The Foundation’s CEO, Andrew Morlet, opened the event and the Executive Lead, Network, Joe Murphy, joined the jury with President of Chanel Fashion Bruno Pavlovsky, Oceanographic Institute Chair Patricia Ricard, Politecnico di Milano Professor Luca Magagnin, University of Cambridge Director, Cambridge Zero, Emily Shuckburgh, Bigger Than Us documentary filmmaker Flore Vasseur, and senior members of Chanel’s leadership team.

The jury selected winning circular economy solutions that will be implemented at Chanel in the coming months.

“The 2023 Chanel Fashion Hackathon is part of our in-depth transformation of the House’s activities, which began several years ago. The aim of this unprecedented event is to accelerate a global virtuous evolution towards a more circular fashion and luxury industry.”

Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel Fashion and President of Chanel SAS

“We were delighted to collaborate with Chanel as a Network Partner and look forward to working closely with the team as our relationship continues to evolve over the next three years. The Circular Economy Hackathon offered a dynamic and exciting approach to solving challenges, and we are excited to support Chanel as it pioneers the transformation towards a circular fashion industry.”

Andrew Morlet, CEO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Network of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which includes businesses, policymakers, financial institutions, and academia, is a pioneering global community committed to taking action to drive systemic change. Chanel, together with the other Network organisations, shares an ambition to change the way it works. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation looks forward to supporting the house, and facilitating collaboration opportunities across the Network, as it strives to accelerate the global transition to a circular economy.

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.

Recover™ secures multi-year recycled cotton agreement with H&M

Recover™ has signed a multi-year agreement with H&M to support the integration of its recycled cotton fiber, RCotton, for use in H&M’s products. Since early 2024, H&M and Recover™ have collaborated on product development, which now enables scaled commercial introduction of Recover™ mechanically recycled cotton into H&M’s collections.

GORE-TEX® KIDSWEAR launches innovative membership scheme for kids’ jackets

With its revolutionary new membership model, GORE-TEX® Kidswear now offers families a simple, flexible and sustainable way of kitting out their children in top-quality jackets. It is aimed at the parents of children aged between five and ten and kicks off with a choice of functional winter jackets.

Speed and connectivity: Techtextil and Texprocess provided market-ready solutions for industries under pressure

With more than 36,000 visitors and 1,700 exhibitors from a total of 112 countries, Techtextil and Texprocess 2026 demonstrated how innovation comes into industrial use. The convergence of research, industry and application proved to be a breeding ground for new material solutions, manufacturing and processing technologies. Natural fibres, performance apparel, connected systems and AI-driven processing technologies emerged as key growth and future markets.

Italian Textile Machinery heads to Geneva for Index 2026

An important delegation of Italian companies will exhibit at the upcoming INDEX 2026, the world’s leading event for the nonwovens sector, taking place from May 19 to 22 in Geneva (Switzerland). Numerous Italian exhibitors will be present within the Italy Pavilion, organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) and ACIMIT, an exhibition area of over 140 square meters dedicated to the latest innovations proposed by the Italian industry.