Dive Brief:
- Reju, a textile-to-textile regeneration company, has partnered with Rematrix, an Italy-based producer responsibility organization, to secure a supply of end-of-life textiles, according to a press release last week.
- Rematrix works with companies in the fashion industry to manage textile collection and recycling, as well as rental and repair. Through its deal with Reju, the two companies expect to establish “a long-term supply partnership of waste textiles for Reju's Regeneration Hub,” per the release.
- In addition to helping brands comply with extended producer responsibility regulations in Europe, the partnership is designed to impact post-consumer textile waste issues and to provide opportunities for near-shoring, per the release.
Dive Insight:
More environmental legislation both domestically and abroad is focused on EPR laws, which are designed to hold manufacturers responsible for what they produce throughout a product’s lifecycle, which includes the post-consumer phase.
At the same time, companies such as Reju are looking to develop new methods of managing previously hard-to-recycle materials such as polyester.
Reju, which is owned by technology firm Technip Energies, opened its first manufacturing facility in October. Based in Germany, the small-scale plant is designed to produce approximately 1,000 metric tons of the company’s proprietary recycled polyester product. Two additional plants — one in Europe and one in the U.S. — are slated to open by 2027, each with the capacity to produce 50,000 metric tons.
The company’s technology focuses on polyethylene terephthalate textile recycling. Reju is attempting to establish “a global textile recycling circular ecosystem” to manage the PET plastic found in textiles, per the release.
Reju’s partnership with Rematrix will help to ensure a consistent supply of textiles and further both companies’ sustainability goals, according to Reju CEO Patrik Frisk.
“Rematrix’s ability to manage the entire lifecycle of textile products, from collection to recycling, aligns perfectly with our mission,” Frisk said in the release. “This alliance not only supports our material sourcing strategy, but also accelerates the industry’s transition to a circular economy.”
Environmental services firm Innovando, which is Rematrix’s managing partner, will lend expertise in traceability, compliance and waste optimization to the collaboration, overseeing supply reliability and ensuring high standards for the textile waste used in the partnership, per the release.
“At Rematrix we believe that collaboration and technological innovation are essential to tackling the challenges of textile waste,” Rematrix CEO Enrico Soffiati said in the release. “Partnering with Reju enables us to equip brands with strategic tools to go beyond EPR requirements and embrace concretely a circular business model.”
Soffiati added that the partnership could also help drive fashion brands’ value proposition.
“By combining our expertise in end-of-life textile collection and management with Reju’s regeneration capabilities, we empower brands to take full control of their supply chains and gain a competitive edge in an increasingly sustainability driven market,” Soffiati said. “This partnership lays the foundation for textile companies to evolve their business models towards a circularity that is both environmentally and economically sustainable.”
