#Recycling / Circular Economy

2022-11-17

Updated Cradle to Cradle Certified® Version 3.1 to Version 4.0 transition policy

This transition policy applies to both Cradle to Cradle Certified® certifications and C2C Certified Material Health Certificates™.

Products currently certified to Version 3.1:

Companies may apply for certification to Version 4.0 for products certified to Version 3.1 as of 1 July 2021 (the Version 4.0 Effective Date). All Version 4.0 certifications will be valid for three years.

In addition to any previous recertifications, products may be recertified to Version 3.1 one additional time until 31 December 2024. Assessment summary forms for these Version 3.1 recertifications will be accepted until 31 December 2024. Products must then be recertified to Version 4.0 when the Version 3.1 certification expires.

All Version 3.1 certifications will be valid for two years. Certifications previously issued in 2022 for less than two years will be extended to allow for a two-year certification period.

It will not be permitted to recertify products ineligible for Version 4.0 certification to Version 3.1 unless it is possible to demonstrate a commitment to meet the Version 4.0 requirements within a specified timeframe.

The current list of products ineligible for Version 4.0 certification can be found in Section 2 of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard Version 4.0 User Guidance.

https://www.c2ccertified.org/resources/detail/version-4_0-user-guidance

New product certifications for Version 3.1 certification holders:

Companies may apply for product certification to Version 4.0 beginning 1 July 2021 (the Version 4.0 Effective Date). All Version 4.0 certifications will be valid for three years.

Applications and assessment summary forms for new product certifications to Version 3.1 will be accepted from existing Version 3.1 certification holders until 31 December 2023. All Version 3.1 certifications will be valid for two years. Applications and assessment summary forms received after 31 December 2023 will be required to certify to Version 4.0.

Exception: Products may be added to an existing Version 3.1 certification (in accordance with the product grouping policy) after the new product application deadline (31 December 2023) and through 31 December 2024.

It will not be permitted to certify products ineligible for Version 4.0 certification to Version 3.1 unless it is possible to demonstrate a commitment to meet the Version 4.0 requirements within a certain timeframe.

New product certifications for new certification holders:

Companies applying for product certification for the first time are required to certify to Version 4.0. All Version 4.0 certifications will be valid for three years. Applications and assessment summary forms for new product certifications to Version 3.1 will not be accepted from new certification holders.

For more information about Cradle to Cradle Certified® Version 4.0, click here:

https://www.c2ccertified.org/get-certified/cradle-to-cradle-certified-version-4

“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.

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.

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.

DyStar releases FY2025 sustainability report, marking a new milestone towards its 2030 targets

DyStar, a leading specialty chemicals company with more than a century of expertise in product development and innovation, today announced the release of its FY2025 Sustainability Report, marking a significant milestone in its sustainability journey and reinforcing its commitment to long-term value creation.

TERIS reaches milestone: Fraunhofer consortium develops new standards for tire analysis

In the “TERIS” project, the Fraunhofer institutes ICT, IGD, and IWM—led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF—have reached a decisive milestone. For the first time, the teams aim to generate, analyse, and predict tire wear in the laboratory in a standardized and practical manner. As part of this milestone, results are now available on reference abrasion, particle analysis, tribological models, AI-based surface analysis, a test bench concept, and methods for accelerated aging and VOC detection. The tire industry, testing services, and environmental agencies will in future benefit from reliable, rapid laboratory procedures for emissions assessment.