#Recycling / Circular Economy

2020-11-26

New blue loan to help Indorama Ventures recycle 50 billion PET bottles a year by 2025

The first-ever blue loan to a global plastic resin manufacturer will lead to the recycling of 50 billion PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles globally a year by 2025 including four countries in Asia and one in Latin America, diverting plastic waste from landfills and oceans.

The landmark $300 million financing package has been arranged by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, for Indorama Ventures Global Services Limited (IVGS), a subsidiary of Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a leading global manufacturer and recycler of PET resin. The funding will help IVL increase its recycling capacity in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India, and Brazil—countries which are grappling with mismanaged waste and serious plastic waste in the environment—and invest in renewable energy and resource efficiency projects. This marks IFC’s first blue loan exclusively focused on addressing marine plastic pollution. A Blue Loan is an innovative instrument whereby the funds raised are certified and tracked exclusively for projects that support a Blue Economy – i.e. sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.

“We are honored to receive the first blue loan from IFC,” said Yashovardhan Lohia, Chief Sustainability Officer, Indorama Ventures. “Our company, IVL, is building the recycling infrastructure needed to divert waste from the marine environment. By recycling post-consumer PET bottles into new bottles, we give waste an economic value. This drives improvements in waste collection systems, meaning less waste and cleaner oceans.”

Indorama Ventures is aiming for a minimum of 750,000 metric tons of recycled PET (rPET) globally by 2025. A key feature of the investment is to create value out of waste—processing post-consumer PET bottles that would have ended up in landfill or been processed into lower-value products—by promoting higher-value bottle-to-bottle recycling which brings significant value generating potential.

“We are pleased to work with IVL, a global leader in PET manufacturing and recycling, to develop scalable solutions to one of the most pervasive and visible issues threatening life under water,” said Alfonso Garcia Mora, IFC Vice President for Asia and Pacific. “This blue loan complements IFC's ongoing work on a circular economy for plastics and enhanced waste management in Asia. It demonstrates that recycling can be an effective intervention to address plastic waste while supporting our overall sustainability and climate change agenda.”

Besides helping IVL increase its recycling capacities in five countries, the loan will also help the company invest in other climate-related activities. IVL will install more solar panels at facilities in Thailand and India with other sites to follow, while also securing more renewable energy for its manufacturing facilities. With IFC financing, IVL is working on a Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) project at its PET and fiber manufacturing facility in Indonesia where energy efficiency (EE) measures are expected to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint by as much as 25 percent. In addition to developing innovative WHR projects, IVL will be developing EE projects in Brazil and other manufacturing facilities to meet its corporate targets.

IFC’s financing package comprises a $150 million senior loan from IFC and parallel loans of $150 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG). IFC is also working closely with the World Bank to leverage public-private sector collaboration and develop policies and investments critical to systematically address the complex marine plastic pollution problem.

Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 signed by Governor

Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) is proud to announce that Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, has been signed into law by the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. This groundbreaking legislation establishes the country’s first Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) textile recycling program, marking a significant step forward in the state’s efforts to combat waste and promote sustainability.

Modtissimo promotes sustainability with 28 coordinates in the Green Circle

Modtissimo is proving more and more to be a textile and clothing show that delivers the latest innovations in the area of sustainability, with the iTechStyle Green Circle being the main showcase for companies' creations. In this 60+4 edition, taking place on 12 and 13 September, 28 coordinates will be exhibited in a section organised by CITEVE and curated by Paulo Gomes.

The EU and Egypt team up to mobilise private sector investments at Investment Conference and sign a Memorandum of Understanding underpinning €1 billion in macro-financial assistance for Egypt

At the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, co-organised by the EU and the Government of Egypt on 29-30 June, the EU and Egypt are teaming up to intensify private sector investments in Egypt. They are also signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the disbursement to Egypt of up to €1 billion in Macro-Financial Assistance.

matterr at K – Where innovation meets industry

At this year’s K trade fair, matterr took the stage to showcase its technology and demonstrate how it drives circular polyester at an industrial scale. Insightful conversations, strong new connections, and great energy — all together reminds how powerful it is when innovation meets industry. The momentum from Düsseldorf shows: circular transformation is no longer a vision — it’s happening.

Nike unites innovation, design and product teams to accelerate athlete-centered innovation

Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse are joining forces under a new, athlete-focused creation structure aimed at accelerating innovation and driving growth across NIKE, Inc. The new setup unites the Innovation, Design and Product teams from all three brands into a single “creation engine” that will enable greater sharing of insights, technology and manufacturing methods throughout the innovation process. This integration is part of Nike’s new Sport Offense strategy and is designed to enhance the creation of products that help athletes perform at their best.

DORNIER celebrates its anniversary at ITMA Asia + CITME

To mark its 75th anniversary, machine and plant manufacturer Lindauer DORNIER will be presenting the latest developments in its rapier and air-jet weaving machines at ITMA Asia + CITME in Singapore (Hall 2, Stand B401) from 28 to 31 October 2025. The focus will be on energy-efficient weaving technologies, new IoT solutions for networked textile production and systems for the series production of modern fibre composite components.

BCI warns against ‘dangerous dilution’ of EU corporate directives

The approval of the European Commission’s Omnibus I proposal by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, accepting controversial changes to key sustainability directives is of great concern. These changes, namely to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), threaten to significantly dilute business reporting and due diligence obligations.

Pioneering open-source framework shows how early innovation drives a just and net-zero fashion future

The non-profit H&M Foundation, in collaboration with Accenture, has unveiled From Signals to Systems Change, an insight report calling on the fashion industry to rethink its role in transformation. At its core is the Reimagined System Map, a pioneering open-source framework that visualises how early-stage innovation could drive a just and net-zero textile future.