#Recycling / Circular Economy

2023-05-25

Infinited Fiber Company and SOEX sign agreement on textile waste feedstock for Infinited Fiber´s Flagship factory

Infinited Fiber Company´s work to build the first commercial-scale Infinna™ fiber factory progresses steadily. Since the announcement of the planned Flagship factory in 2021, the company has been building a supplier network for textile waste feedstock, partnering with forerunning textile sorters across Europe. In March, Infinited Fiber signed a three-year agreement with SOEX, a leading German textile sorting and recycling group.

One of Infinited Fiber´s key suppliers and a major player in the recycling market, SOEX is well positioned to provide the Flagship factory with an annual supply of up to 5000 tons of post-consumer textile waste. Infinited Fiber´s patented technology turns cotton-rich textile waste into high-quality, circular textile fiber Infinna™ for world´s leading apparel brands.

SOEX collects post-consumer textile waste mainly from Germany through municipal and commercial street collection, as well as the I:CO Take-Back System that enables fashion houses and retailers collect pre-loved clothing back from their customers in their stores or online. For used textiles unfit to for second hand sale, SOEX has a groundbreaking, fully automated sorting for recycling set-up, where artificial intelligence recognizes individual garments and sorts them by materials or colors.

“We are not only building a factory, but an ecosystem, and SOEX and its team matches our passion for advancing circularity in the textile industry through cutting-edge technology. This contract with SOEX is another great advancement in building the partner infrastructure for our flagship factory. This collaboration will also bring our brand customers new opportunities to loop textile waste from their supply chains into Infinna™´s raw material“, says Jari Ekblad, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Infinited Fiber Company.

“SOEX is a promoter of secondary raw material value streams and sustainability solutions. Together with Infinited Fiber we share the same vision and values for circular infrastructure for textile industry”, says Walter J. Thomsen, CEO at SOEX.

Infinited Fiber Company transforms textile waste otherwise destined to landfills or inceneration into a versatile, premium textile fiber called Infinna™, which looks and feels like cotton. The new factory, at the site of a discontinued paper mill in Kemi, Finland, will process approximately 37 000 tons of textile waste to produce 30,000 metric tons of Infinna™ annually – equivalent to the fiber needed for about 100 million T-shirts. Most of the future factory’s production capacity has already been sold out for several years.

Infinited Fiber Company appoints new chair and board members to drive next growth phase

Infinited Fiber Company has announced key changes to its Board of Directors following its Annual General Meeting on June 30, 2025. The new appointments are designed to support the company’s strategic focus on scaling its proprietary Infinna™ technology, expanding partnerships across the textile value chain, and preparing for industrial-level investment.

Infinited Fiber Company enters the next strategic phase under new leadership

Infinited Fiber Company announces that Petri Alava, co-founder and CEO since the company’s founding in 2016, will step down from his role on May 31, 2025. Chief Operating Officer Sahil Kaushik will serve as acting CEO from June 1, 2025. Petri Alava will continue supporting the company as Senior Advisor through the end of November. The Board of Directors has initiated the search for a permanent successor.

Infinited Fiber and Norbite collaborate in EU-funded TEX-INSECT project

Infinited Fiber Company is pleased to announce its collaboration on the EU funded TEX-INSECT project, which aims to develop and optimize Norbite’s technology that converts synthetics originating from textile waste into sustainable bioproducts. Infinited Fiber’s process takes in cotton-rich textile waste otherwise destinated into landfills or incinerators.

Reju announces site selection for first U.S. industrial sized facility regeneration hub in Rochester, New York

Reju, the textile-to-textile regeneration company, today announced it has selected the site for its first U.S.-based industrial facility marking a significant milestone in its efforts to scale globally. This future Regeneration Hub will be in Rochester, New York, reinforcing Reju’s commitment to the adoption of circular textile system across key regions worldwide.

Canopy introduces a first-of-its-kind $2 billion USD investment blueprint to decarbonize global materials supply chains

Today, the global, solutions-driven not-for-profit Canopy joined partners at Davos to introduce a new finance model designed to accelerate the growth of low-carbon materials and transform the paper, packaging, and textile supply chains. The event was anchored by a keynote speech from Sri A Revanth Reddy, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana, with India set to host the first iteration of the new investment blueprint.

Sustainable, lightweight, and sound absorbing: Polyester-based front trunk solution for BEVs

As car manufacturers look to further reduce their carbon footprint, Autoneum has developed an innovative front trunk solution for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), made entirely from polyester-based textile. The Ultra-Silent Frunk offers significant weight reduction, improved acoustic and thermal insulation, and uses up to 70 percent recycled material, supporting sustainable and efficient vehicle design. Autoneum, global technology leader in acoustic and thermal management for vehicles, has already received orders for the new frunk from three major OEMs in Asia and Europe to be built in three BEV models. Series production for two BEVs has been underway in China and Germany since last year.

Modern testing methods for raw cotton

The 38th International Cotton Conference Bremen will take place from 25 to 27 March 2026 at the Bremen Parliament. This conference has traditionally stood for in-depth expertise and international exchange. The program will focus on technical innovations, market trends, and regulatory frameworks across the entire value chain – from agriculture to the circular economy. With high-profile speakers, the conference is regarded as the key meeting point for the global cotton industry. Today’s focus: Cotton quality and testing methods.

Rieter responds to higher raw material prices

Global political and economic developments have been leading to rising raw material and energy costs for some time. The textile machinery industry is also affected by this trend. Rieter machines and components consist to a large extent of steel, copper, aluminum and electronics. These materials in particular have seen higher demand and higher prices in recent months.