Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1518432
N o one said circular textiles would be easy. FinModelsLab, a provider of financial tools and resources for startups, estimates that the cost of setting up a textile business from scratch is over $19 million. Creation of a textile-to-textile circular fiber business requires millions of additional dollars for collecting, sorting and processing the textile waste used as inputs. Circular fiber startups are facing issues with financing, supply chains, and the customer commitments needed to enable production at scale. Are we seeing an inflection point in textile circularity's growth curve? What happened to Renewcell? e recent bankruptcy of award-winning Renewcell, manufacturers of CIRCULOSE cellulose dissolving pulp made from cotton-rich textile waste, threw a bucket of cold water on the trajectory of circular textiles. e product's beauty was its use of post-consumer and post- industrial textiles as its feedstock. Circulose was trialed by early adopters such as Swedish fashion brand Ganni; Levi-Strauss & Company and Triarchy; and retail brands H&M and Zara. After twelve years in development, the company's first industrial-scale plant opened in August of 2022 in a retired Swedish paper mill with an annual production capacity of 120,000 metric tons of Circulose pulp. Scaling up production required working with fiber and yarn spinners, who then sold to knitters and weavers. Each step in the supply chain increased cost, and products made with Circulose command premium pricing. H&M Group supported Renewcell over seven years with $29 million in orders; and in December agreed to acquire an additional 7,000 metric tons of Circulose in 2024 and 11,000 metric tons in 2025. While the unexpected shortfall in long-term funding triggered Renewcell's bankruptcy, many in the industry point fingers at mass market and fast fashion brands. "How many times a year do we see someone launch a new brand that is entirely dependent on fossil fuel- based fibers? It's clearly a lack of education that allows people to keep making mistakes like this. Hopefully we see a shi in time to facilitate the growth in these (circular) technologies instead of letting them go bankrupt in favor of celebrity and fast fashion brands," remarks Adam Taubenfligel, CEO of high-end responsible denim brand Triarchy. As Renewcell's operations are currently under the control of the bankruptcy administrator, "viscose made with Circulose is available for sale in the market and additional tons of Circulose pulp have been produced," says Shannon Welch, Renewcell global brand director. "ere is a supply that will satisfy the projected needs of brands and suppliers for the next 18 -24 months." Welch suggests that the industry is experiencing the "trough of disillusionment," which is a natural phase of the Gartner Hype Cycle as it relates to technology innovation. "However, with disillusionment, innovations continue, and early-stage companies can iterate their products and processes to better serve the market." Strengthening Supply Chains The EU's Waste Framework Directive specifies implementation of separate textile waste collection by January 1, 2025. How the member countries will deal with this is anyone's guess; but the potential is there to provide feedstock for textile-to-textile recycling. Proposed regulation on waste shipments will ensure that textile waste is only exported when there are guarantees that the waste is managed Has Textile Circularity Reached an Inflection Point? Despite setbacks, progress continues. By Debra Cobb TECHNOLOGY/CIRCULARITY 38 • Textile Insight ~ Spring 2024 textileinsight.com New impact venture Syre launches with a mission to decarbonize textiles. Operations at Renewcell 1 began in 2022.