#Sustainability

2021-07-08

SABIC named global company of the year for its contribution towards a circular economy for plastics

Consulting and research firm Frost & Sullivan has named SABIC a Global Company of the Year as part of its 2021 Best Practices Recognition Program. SABIC was awarded the title based on Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis of the global market for sustainability and the circular economy of used plastics recycling and resource recovery.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year award to the organization demonstrating excellence in growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies and the resulting leadership in customer value and market penetration. Frost & Sullivan presented SABIC with this year’s award for its efforts in driving forward the development of a circular economy for used plastics and its commitment to innovation and technology, fortified by pioneering partnerships.

"SABIC's TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio and services have found significant adoption among businesses looking for commercially and environmentally viable solutions," noted Riana Barnard, Best Practices Research Analyst. "With its deep commitment to innovation and technology, bolstered by pioneering partnerships and leadership excellence, SABIC is all set to continue leading the global market for more sustainable material solutions.”

Abdullah Al-Otaibi, General Manager of Engineering Thermoplastics & Market Solutions for Petrochemicals at SABIC, said: “SABIC is committed to finding innovative solutions, including our TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services, which will help to transform our industry from a linear into a circular economy. To do this, we are collaborating with a wide range of partners globally across the value chain to realise our vision of a closed loop for used plastics and moving towards a sustainable, circular future.”

In 2019, SABIC launched its TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services to help provide customers with more sustainable solutions and at the same time help close the loop and prevent valuable used plastic from becoming waste. As part of this program, which includes design for recyclability, certified renewable products from bio-based feedstock and mechanically recycled products, SABIC launched its pioneering certified circular products from advanced recycling of mixed and used plastic. The initial introduction to the market has resulted in unprecedented demand from businesses looking for commercially and environmentally viable solutions.

Committed to driving the uptake of recycled plastic, SABIC was the first in the industry to commit to investments in advanced recycling, and a world-first commercial plant is currently under construction at its Geleen site in the Netherlands. The company collaborates with players across the entire value chain to reshape our society, industry, frameworks, and governing structures and drive systemic change to create the right conditions for a circular economy.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

180 years of TESTEX: From Zurich silk testing to global certification

For 180 years, TESTEX has developed alongside the textile industry while maintaining the same underlying purpose: creating trust through independent and reliable measurement. Founded in Zurich in 1846 as the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute, TESTEX has grown from a local institution serving the silk trade into an international Swiss testing and certification institute for textiles and leather.

Cascale launches member-led process to shape 2030 strategy

Cascale has launched a member-led process to define the industry alliance’s strategic direction for the next decade. At the Cascale Annual Meeting 2026 in Athens, CEO Ying McGuire announced that members will contribute to an industry system map that will inform Cascale’s 10-year vision, its 2030 strategy and priorities for 2027. The new strategy is scheduled to be finalized in December.

Jeanologia Sustainability Report highlights environmental impact of textile technologies

Jeanologia has published its Sustainability Report 2025, reporting a 13.64% reduction in its own carbon footprint and quantifying the environmental impact associated with the use of its technologies across the global textile industry. According to the company’s calculations, their use avoided the pollution of 21.52 million m³ of water and emissions of approximately 103,530 tonnes of CO₂ compared with conventional textile finishing processes.

Global Standards announce launch of a new textile processing standard

The 14th September 2026 marks the public launch of the Global Responsible Textile Standard (GRTS), a new standard for the processing of textiles made from fibres certified to third-party standards recognised by GRTS and covering a broad range of plant, animal, synthetic, man-made cellulosic and recycled fibres.

HeiQ & Archroma and Lenzing & Armedangels win ITMF International Collaboration Awards 2026

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) has named two industry partnerships as winners of the ITMF International Collaboration Awards 2026. The awards go to collaborations between HeiQ and Archroma as well as Lenzing and Armedangels, highlighting joint approaches to innovation and sustainability across different parts of the textile value chain.

Moving Advanced Recycling from Innovation to Implementation

The Advanced Recycling Conference 2026 explores technologies, markets, financing and scale-up of innovative recycling solutions for waste streams including mixed plastic waste, textiles and PVC. Europe’s chemical and materials sector faces growing pressure to close carbon loops, strengthen raw-material safety and resilience and meet increasingly ambitious EU recycling targets. Against this backdrop, the Advanced Recycling Conference (ARC) will bring together industry leaders, technology providers, researchers, innovators and policy-makers on 17–18 November 2026 in Cologne, Germany.

German textile industry and retailers form alliance to shape textile EPR system

Germany’s textile and fashion industry and retail sector have joined forces to establish the “Alliance for Textile Circularity” (Allianz für textile Kreisläufe). Initiated by the German Textile and Fashion Industry Association (Gesamtverband textil+mode) and the German Retail Federation (HDE), the alliance aims to contribute industry expertise to the development of Germany’s future Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for textiles and footwear.

PERFORMANCE DAYS introduces Digital Design Journey with CLO and VIZOO

PERFORMANCE DAYS will introduce a new Digital Design Journey at its upcoming edition in Munich, connecting physical fabric sourcing with 3D product development. Supported by CLO and VIZOO, the installation will demonstrate how real performance fabrics can be digitized and incorporated into virtual garment development workflows.