#Recycling / Circular Economy

2022-05-12

ATKO Planning realizes leather waste circulation

ATKO Planning Inc. (CEO G-ON Kim), a Korean company producing recycled leather, announced that it is receiving offers from global luxury brands for its innovative textile materials, amid the fierce competition in the global textile market.

ATKO collects leather waste from leather tanneries and produces recycled leather yarns and textiles using the world’s first eco-friendly dry processing technology. The company’s recycled leather textile won the grand prize at Premiere Vision Paris 2019, one of the most prestigious events for fashion and textile. It was praised for “the most exceptional, symbolic, and pertinent leather of the season.”

ATKO Planning collects leather waste from leather tanneries and produces recycled leather yarns and textiles using the world’s first eco-friendly dry processing technology. © 2022 ATKO PLANNING

Leather waste used by ATKO is leather scraps collected from LWG Silver and Gold rated leather tanneries. This is why it is possible to produce high-quality leather fibers that enjoy the unique texture and durability of natural leather, unlike the existing regenerated leather that recycles shaving scraps.

Leather scrap is classified as industrial waste because it contains chromium, a heavy metal. Incineration is impossible for this reason, and most are disposed in landfills or dumped in the sea.

However, ocean dumping of leather scrap is becoming more difficult due to a London Convention agreement. While leather scrap accounts for 10% of the world's total waste, only 13.7% of it is recycled. Using ATKO’s recycled leather fabrics will provide a superior solution for manufacturing companies to meet the demands of ESG management without harming the conventional business model that consumes materials and manufactures products.

The key technology of ATKO is selecting only high-quality cow leather waste, obtaining recycled leather fibers through the fiberization process, and mixing them with recycled PET fibers to produce spun yarn. It is a dry process that does not use a single drop of water or chemicals, so it is environmentally friendly because it does not discharge wastewater. In addition, ATKO focuses on the circular economy and has already developed continuous resource circular technology to produce futuristic and sustainable products in balance with the environment. Based on it, ATKO can recycle not only leather waste but also ATKO’s products again and again.

Meanwhile, ATKO supplied recycled leather spun yarn to Hyundai Transys’ future mobility seat concept, which was unveiled at the Lineapelle International Leather Fair held in Milano in February. An official from ATKO expressed aspirations that ATKO Planning will take the exhibition as an opportunity as well as accelerate collaboration projects with Hyundai on mobility interior application and prepare mass production supply.

“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”

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Managed workwear services are providing a blueprint for the circular textile economy

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Eco-design as the foundation of circular textiles

Based on the results of an extensive European analysis, the Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity is currently developing three practice-based training modules covering recycling technologies, eco-design for the circular economy and sustainable manufacturing. This was preceded by a comprehensive company survey and a joint analysis conducted by the project partners under the leadership of IVGT. The results show that the greatest challenges lie not so much in a lack of technology as in skills gaps.

Usha Yarns secures growth equity investment from Fullerton Carbon Action Fund

Usha Yarns Limited (“Usha Yarns”), a producer of high-quality recycled yarns with advanced, well established production processes, announced a growth equity investment from the Fullerton Carbon Action Fund (“Fullerton”), a private equity strategy managed by Fullerton Fund Management that backs established mid-market companies across Emerging Asia to accelerate decarbonisation.

PERFORMANCE DAYS announces new focus topic & forums for October 2026

With its upcoming October 13–14, 2026 edition, PERFORMANCE DAYS is placing the spotlight on one of the textile industry’s most important transformations: “Bio-Based Materials – From Fiber to Fabric”, a two-part Focus Topic exploring the future of bio-based innovation across the textile value chain. Part 1, presented in October 2026, will focus on fibers and next-generation material developments, while Part 2 at the March 2027 edition will shift the perspective toward dyeing, finishing, additives, and processing technologies.

Febratex 2026 to be the largest edition of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas with 10 exhibition halls

Febratex 2026 will be the largest edition in the history of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas. Dedicated to the textile and apparel manufacturing industries, the event will take place from August 18–21, 2026, in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, with a strong focus on technology, sustainability, and business generation.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues field trip brings international stakeholders closer to Brazil’s cotton production chain

How do you build trust across the global textile value chain? By opening the farm gates. This is the principle behind the Cotton Brazil Dialogues. At the end of July, the programme welcomed its first group of international participants for a five-day immersion into Brazilian cotton production, combining field visits with technical workshops to showcase the quality, sustainability, innovation and traceability behind one of the world’s leading cotton origins.