#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-07-08

Recover™, Happy Punt and Hansae Form a strategic partnership to achieve circular fashion for all

Three leading companies in the textiles industry, Recover™, Happy Punt, and Hansae, have entered into a multi-year partnership agreement to provide end-to-end solutions for the design, development, and production of sustainably conscious apparel for the fashion industry. The partnership allows retailers and brands to seamlessly integrate sustainable Recover™ recycled cotton fiber into their products, thereby helping to solve one of the world’s biggest environmental issues.

Using innovative technology, the partnership provides a range of services, including 3D design, patterns, tech packs, samples, and production to support brands and retailers at every step in the supply chain. The partnership offers a unique speed to market solution for the production of fully sustainable apparel and leverages the group’s global reach, with offices in Seoul, Barcelona, and New York. In addition, close customer proximity provides in-market technical design services that develop, review and approve all specifications to ensure correct fit and brand enhancing products.The partnership also provides an end-to-end service that combines the advantages of production nearshore and offshore worldwide.

Dedicated leading edge design and development facilities can produce samples in house from concept to finished sample with a quick turnaround time. Notably, as part of a joint sustainability initiative, the partnership also encourages R&D designs to be replaced by 3D designs to reduce the environmental impact of the sampling process.

The three leading companies have a combined experience of over 130 years in each of their respective fields. Each firm’s commitment to bringing the best technology to the product and the market offers a disruptive approach to the traditional apparel design and production process. The partnership is proud to be actively working with leading global brands to deliver sustainable collections to the market by Spring 2022, and more collections are expected to follow.

Recover™ will increase its production to 200,000 metric tons of recycled cotton fiber per year by 2025 to support the current market demand. This recycled cotton volume will save nearly three trillion liters of water each year, equivalent to the drinking water consumed by 3 billion people on an annual basis and allow 500,000 acres of land to be directed away from cotton cultivation to other uses.

The Recover™, Happy Punt, and Hansae strategic partnership provides brands and retailers with an easy plug & play solution to achieve their sustainability initiatives and ensures a quality product for the consumer.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Industrial scale meets verified governance: RE&UP is now B Corp™ certified

RE&UP, the circular-tech transforming global textile waste into high-volume Next-Gen materials, has officially become a Certified B Corporation™. The milestone establishes the industrial recycler among a select group of manufacturing infrastructure providers verified as meeting B Lab Standards for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

Recover™ and Ünteks Group partner to scale recycled cotton in knitwear

Recover(TM), a global producer of low‐impact, high‐quality recycled cotton fiber, announces a new partnership with Ünteks Group, a vertically integrated textile manufacturer based in Turkey. The collaboration focuses on the development of circular knit fabrics and garments, combining Recover’s recycled cotton fiber with Ünteks Group’s integrated capabilities across knitting, dyeing, printing, and garment production.

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.

Rieter sees Barmag integration on track as orders and sales rise

The first half of 2026 was shaped by the successful completion of the largest acquisition in Rieter’s history. The Man-Made Fiber Division enables entry into the growth segment of man-made fibers and sustainably strengthens Rieter’s market position in the Asia region. The expanded Group is now the world’s leading system supplier for the processing of natural and man-made fibers. In the first half of the year, initial cost savings in material costs and operating expenses have already been realized. The targeted synergies are expected to amount to at least CHF 20 million by the end of the 2028 financial year. Due to the completion of the acquisition on February 2, 2026, the first half of the year for the Man-Made Fiber Division only amounts to five months.