Renewcell

The nascent textile-to-textile recycling industry is emerging from crisis with fresh momentum, as Swedish pioneer Renewcell is rescued out of administration and Sri Lankan manufacturing giant MAS pledges to buy thousands of metres of recycled polyester.

Textile-to-textile recycling technologies could be a climate game changer for fashion’s environmental footprint. But like renewable energy, they need state support for market efforts to scale, argues Nicole Rycroft.

In the weeks since one of the industry’s most promising recycling start-ups filed for bankruptcy, big brands have put more money and more commitment into bringing innovations to market.

The Swedish textile recycler said it was unable to secure sufficient long-term funds to continue operations.

The State of Fashion 2024's essential guide to incoming sustainability regulation reveals how and why retailers, brands and manufacturers need to revamp business models to align to a shifting regulatory landscape.

Weaker-than-expected demand for Swedish textile recycler Renewcell’s first commercial volumes of recycled cellulose pulp has sent the company’s stock price plummeting and highlighted broader hurdles challenging efforts to lessen fashion’s environmental footprint.

Shares in the Swedish textile-to-textile recycling pioneer have fallen nearly 80 percent since it flagged weaker-than-expected uptake of the cellulosic pulp it produces.

Brands are pursuing a raft of initiatives to adopt recycled textiles, regeneratively farmed cotton and mushroom-based leather, but giving fashion’s major materials a sustainability makeover still requires billions of dollars worth of investments and deeper, longer-term commitments to scale. BoF breaks down some of the key innovations, the companies leading the charge and the barriers to change.

The scaling of closed-loop recycling could help reduce fashion’s environmental impact at the materials level. The technologies to make this happen are maturing, creating an opportunity for companies to embed them in a product’s design phase while adopting processes to enable scaling.

Brands missed roughly a third of the goals they set for themselves as part of an industry initiative that ended this year, reflecting the challenge that remains for the sector beyond ambitious sustainability targets.