TWINTEX, a Portugal-based clothing manufacturer specializing in medium-to-high-end and luxury garments, has implemented the Hänel Lean-Lift automated vertical warehouse from VRC Warehouse Technologies, Portugal, to optimize its logistics operations. This system enhances real-time stock management, reduces manual tasks, and improves process efficiency, enabling operators to quickly access and organize materials with greater accuracy, according to the manufacturer.
The installation has led to a 40-percent reduction in space usage, improved employee safety by eliminating the need for ladders, and minimized physical strain, according to the company.
“With VRC Warehouse Technologies’ equipment, an operator can, in just a few steps, retrieve and organize all the necessary materials, while stock management is updated by the day, hour, and minute, significantly enhancing performance in an impressive way,” said Mico Mineiro, COO of Twintex.
Oerlikon Barmag and Evonik, both based in Germany, have announced a strategic partnership to advance chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste. The collaboration focuses on developing efficient depolymerization and purification technologies, integrated with repolymerization processes and scalable Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) business models.This joint effort aims to commercialize a cutting-edge PET recycling technology by the end of the decade, fostering a global network of development partners.
Oerlikon Barmag brings expertise in polymer processing for fibers and packaging, while Evonik contributes innovative catalytic processes to enhance recycling efficiency.The technology will allow seamless integration into existing PET production, handling contaminated and mixed PET waste that currently ends up in landfills or incinerators.
“Our new catalytic processes and chemical technologies will complement the current mechanical recycling approach enabling high recycled PET content from heavily contaminated and mixed PET waste that would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled,” said Max Preisenberger, head of Catalysts at Evonik.
Universal Fibers®, Bristol,Va., is strengthening its investment in nylon 6,6 capabilities to support customers following Ascend’s exit from the bulked continuous fiber (BCF) business.This move ensures continued access to nylon 6,6 offerings, backed by capital investments in new spinning capacity for solution dyed nylon (SDN) and natural yarns. The company aims to meet evolving market demands while reinforcing its commitment to product innovation and customer satisfaction.
“Universal Fibers is excited to capitalize on this opportunity,” said Marc Ammen, CEO of Universal Fiber Systems.“We are confident that the addition of these resources will complement our existing product offerings and further underpin our commitment to product innovation, customer satisfaction and long-term growth.”
Los Angeles-based Ambercycle and Shenghong Holding Group, China, have formed a strategic partnership to scale the production of regenerated filament yarns made using cycora® material. This collaboration integrates cycora into China’s value chain, supporting global demand for circular solutions in the apparel industry. Leveraging Shenghong’s advanced yarn manufacturing and Ambercycle’s circular materials expertise, the partnership aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, reducing reliance on virgin materials.
“Our partnership with Shenghong underscores our shared vision for a circular future,”said Shay Sethi, co-founder and CEO at Ambercycle. “Together, we’re not just scaling production; we’re driving the adoption of circular materials across the apparel industry at the pace necessary to meet the growing demand.”
Austria-based Lenzing Group has expanded its LENZING™ Lyocell Fill portfolio within the TENCEL™ family, introducing a finer fiber variant with various cut lengths tailored for home textiles and apparel. According to the company, the new fibers enhance thermal comfort, moisture control, and form-keeping properties, while offering greater design versatility. Suitable for carding and blow-fill technologies, the fibers blend well with materials like polyester and down, catering to applications such as pillows, comforters and stuffed toys.
Produced from responsibly sourced wood, the fibers are EU Eco- and ClimatePartner-certified, supporting sustainability by reducing reliance on fossil-based materials.
Circ®, Danville,Va., has launched Fiber Club, a collaborative initiative with Fashion for Good and Canopy aimed at accelerating the adoption of recycled materials in the fashion industry. The program enables brands to validate and integrate recycled fibers through a four-phase process, reducing costs and complexity by streamlining supplier engagement and combining brand volumes. The inaugural focus is on Circ’s staple lyocell fiber, with plans to expand to more materials.
Partners include supply chain leaders Birla Cellulose, Arvind, and Foshan Chicley, alongside brands like Bestseller, Eileen Fisher, Everlane, and Zalando.This collective effort facilitates the scaling of Next Gen materials through simplified supply chain integration and bulk pricing strategies.
“By collaborating with brands and streamlining supply chain integration, we’re making it easier than ever to adopt recycled and Next Gen materials at scale — starting with our Circ Lyocell,” said Circ CEO Peter Majeranowski.
Breakthrough enzyme technology company Samsara Eco’s Co-Founder Vanessa Vongsouthi (right) with Founder and CEO Paul Riley.
Scaling Samsara Eco’s technology enables infinite recycling without quality degradation and eliminates the need for creating new plastics from fossil fuels.
TW Special Report
Recycling textiles and plastic waste has been top-of-mind among many leaders in the textile industry under the guise of sustainability for some time now.
Thought leaders have led the charge, conferences have been held, and no shortage of articles have been written on this very hot topic. And in time, real investments, innovations, and products have come to market. But there is still much work to be done to achieve a serious level of circularity in the textile industry.
Mixed waste often consists of various plastics, contaminants, dyes and other components presenting a conventional recycling nightmare that necessitates sorting and often some degree of cleaning prior to further processing.
There is something to be said for a more efficient recycling process but regrettably, meeting the challenge is no simple task.
Enter Samsara Eco
Founded in 2021, Australia-based Samsara Eco has made strides in mixed waste recycling with a continuous enzymatic approach that alleviates waste sorting, breaks both polyester and nylon 6,6 waste down to their respective monomer building blocks, and doesn’t gobble up a lot of energy in the process.
By engineering plastic degrading enzymes that can break down plastics to their most basic building blocks —from polymers to monomers — the Samsara platform streamlines the mixed waste recycling process.
The very definition of samsara is the “cyclicity of all life, matter, and existence.”
A Breakthrough
As Ph.D. students at the Australian National University (ANU), Matthew Spence and Vanessa Vongsouthi focused on engineering plastic-degrading enzymes. Their work formed the foundation of Samsara Eco’s infinite plastic recycling technology platform.
Paul Riley, who saw the technology’s potential, founded Samsara Eco to address global plastic pollution and put his 30 years of experience in venture capital and private equity business development to work. Commercializing Co-Founders Spence and Vongsouthi’s research would allow for infinite recycling without quality degradation and eliminate the need for creating new plastics from fossil fuels or plants.
Samsara Eco was launched with the backing of Main Sequence —Australia’s “deep tech” investment fund — and Woolworths Group, and in partnership with ANU, all drawn to Samsara’s mission to “decouple fossil fuels from plastics manufacturing, by delivering new plastics comprised of 100-percent recycled material — with no virgin plastics supplementation needed.”
Riley, founder and CEO of Samsara Eco, explained: “I had been searching for a solution to the plastic crisis for nearly a year when a serendipitous moment led me to the research at ANU. The moment I saw it, I knew it could change everything. It had the potential to tackle both the waste and carbon problems associated with plastics.
The new $25 million Samsara Eco production and development headquarters includes four labs and two processing lines.
“As we’ve scaled the technology and run trials with brands and partners, we’ve witnessed how this potential can become a reality. And, while there’s still a long way to go in solving the plastic crisis, our progress over the past four years — advancing the ability to recycle even the most challenging plastics, including mixed plastics and textile blends — offers real hope for a fossil-fuel, waste-free future.”
The Basics
Samsara’s enzyme platform has broad capabilities that can depolymerize polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyester plastics; nylon 6,6, including dyed and spandex blended textiles; and hard-to-recycle plastics.
EosEco™ Technology
Moving the technology forward, the Samsara team created the brand EosEco™ to signify its patented recycling technology and the combination of biophysics, chemistry, biology, and computer science, including AI, used in creating its plastic-eating enzymes.
The Samsara Eco team has taken scaling enzymatic recycling seriously from the get-go.
Starting with a lab scale model in 2021, it created a pilot line in 2022 followed by a prototype of two batch lines — for polyester and nylon 6,6 — in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Two, larger scale commercial proof of concept R&D lines will come online during 2025, and the team has sights set on delivering a 20-kiloton commercial plant in 2027.
“Textile-to-textile recycling is becoming increasingly important as minimum recycled content mandates and extender producer responsibility regulations come into force in the EU and elsewhere around the world,” said Samsara Eco Chief Commercial Officer and COO Sarah Cook.
“Brands are having to rethink their entire global supply chains with these regulations in mind, and it’s placing a greater need for solutions like ours.
“We help brands take control of the entire lifecycle of their products, while also helping reduce scope emissions. That’s a really appealing proposition for companies,” Cook added.
The team behind Samsara Eco’s success.
The Nylon Difference
Regarding the company’s ability to recycle nylon 6,6 and its recently announced enzyme capable of recycling nylon 6, Cook said: “There are really limited solutions for recycling nylon so our ability to recycle nylon 6,6, nylon 6 and polyester is a significant advantage. The broader industry’s recent focus tends to be on recycling pure polyester textiles largely because polyester accounts for approximately 57 percent of global fiber production.
However, for a huge segment of the market, particularly sports and outdoor wear, athleisure, intimates, hosiery and even automotives, nylon is widely used, and they need a solve to handle their waste and excess. We are uniquely positioned to help them fill this gap.
“We are working with a range of potential feedstock partners including the brands, mills, existing collectors and other potential sources within the nylon 6,6 supply chain,” Cook continued. “The feedstock will be both post-industrial and post-consumer waste that will go through our enzymatic recycling technology.”
lululemon’s iconic Swiftly Tech Long-Sleeve Top created with Samsara Eco’s recycled nylon 6,6.
Collaboration Is Key
Developing a process from bench chemistry to a full-blown plant is one thing, but developing industry partnerships and gaining acceptance takes significant effort as well.
In February 2024 Vancouver, British Columbia-based brand lululemon announced: “Using recycled nylon 6,6 made with Samsara Eco’s technology, lululemon has created samples of its iconic Swiftly Tech Long-Sleeve Top, representing the first time this type of nylon has been recycled in this way.”
Riley said at the time: “Our work with lululemon represents a ground-breaking step forward in tackling the challenge of textile waste and demonstrates the potential to create a fully circular ecosystem for apparel.
“We’ve started with nylon 6,6, but this sets the trajectory of what’s possible for recycling across a range of industries as we continue expanding our library of plastic-eating enzymes.This is an incredibly significant moment for the future of sustainable fashion and circularity.”
lululemon also noted that, “This milestone in lululemon’s multi-year collaboration with Samsara Eco is one way lululemon is advancing its goal to make 100 percent of products with preferred materials and end of use solutions by 2030.”
Samsara Eco Chief Commercial Officer and COO Sarah Cook is helping brands rethink their entire global supply chains.
NILIT MoU
In August 2024, Samsara signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for apparel with Israel-based nylon 6,6 producer NILIT. Regarding the MoU, Ilana Melamed, NILIT general manager, explained: “NILIT’s partnership with Samsara Eco is a critical step in our multi-pronged strategy to provide the apparel market with premium nylon 6,6 products that have lower environmental impact.
“Implementing textile-to-textile recycling solutions will substantially decrease global carbon emissions and reduce the 92 million tons of textile waste added to landfills annually. Together, NILIT and Samsara Eco have the potential to produce infinitely recycled nylon 6,6 that delivers outstanding fabric quality and performance while benefiting the planet.”
Industry Recognition
In September 2024, Samsara Eco received an “ITMF Sustainability & Innovation Award” presented by the Zurich-based International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) at its annual conference held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
ITMF Awards recognize outstanding achievements by actors in the global textile industry in two categories — Sustainability & Innovation and International Cooperation. According to ITMF, these awards highlight the textile industry’s commitment to sustainability and global cooperation, showcasing innovation and collaborative efforts that are driving progress towards a more sustainable future.
The ITMF Sustainability & Innovation Award was presented in honor of Samsara’s development described as, “Endless Plastic Recycling: A Solution for Textiles Out of Use.”
Founder and Samsara Eco CEO Paul Riley said, “The moment I saw it, I knew it could change everything.”
Investing In The Future
In June 2024, Samsara Eco raised $100 million Australian dollars ($65 million) in a Series A+ funding round. According to ESG Today — a website dedicated to covering environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues for investors — the funding was led by Temasek and Main Sequence, with participation from investors including Wollemi Capital, lululemon, Hitachi Ventures, Titanium Ventures and DCVC.
It has also been reported that the funding will be used for facilities across Southeast Asia.
Regarding the investment, Cook stated: “Our latest funding will facilitate the development of two major recycling facilities — one for nylon and another for polyester. We expect these facilities to commence commercial operations during 2027 and will be established as joint ventures with leading plastic polymerization companies.”
Building Towards A Sustainable Future
Vongsouthi serves as head of Science Operations & Research founder and is focused on optimization of the company’s enzymes. She has often stated: “All the plastic we’ll ever need has already been produced. With infinite plastic recycling, we can view waste as a valuable resource and put a ‘full stop’ to the production of virgin plastic from fossil fuels.”
Accomplishing the company’s mission to divert plastic from landfills and oceans while creating a truly circular economy for plastics has become more than Riley’s vision for Samsara Eco — it’s reality.
Toronto-based Canada Goose recently named Judit Bankus senior vice president of Merchandising.
Laura Beachy has joined Italy-based Thermore as vice president of Global Marketing and Communications.
Kimbrell
Cotton Incorporated, Cary, N.C., recently named William Kimbrell president and CEO.
Eric Haagen was named sales representative with responsibility for the North American market for testing solutions company emtec Electronic GmbH, Germany.
Seymour
Applied mathematician and color scientist John Seymour has joined Germany-based ColorLogic — a software brand and global provider of color management solutions — as the Color Science lead.
Craig Leffew has joined Piana Sleep — a division of Piana Technology, Cartersville, Ga. — as director of sales. He reports to Piana Sleep’s Vice President of Business Development Chris Henning.
Beckham
Haskell W. Beckham was honored with the 2024 Olney Medal from the AmericanAssociation of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), Durham, N.C. Beckham is vice president of Innovation at Columbia Sportswear, Portland, Ore., and was recognized for his significant contributions to textile sciences.
Seattle-based outdoor clothing and accessories brand Filson, a Bedrock Manufacturing Co.,
has named Tim Bantle president.
Germany-based Lindauer DORNIER GmbH has appointed Dr. Holger Niemeier chief technology officer. He is responsible for research and development, production and digitalization with a focus on artificial intelligence.
Germany-based specialty chemical company Rudolf GmbH has appointed Marcos Furrer CEO, Dr. Gunther Duschek chief technology and operations officer, and Dr. Oliver Kusterle chief sustainability officer. In addition, Dr. Wolfgang A. Schumann was named chairman of the Board of Directors.
Emmanuelle Gmür was recently named chief human resources officer of the Rieter Group, Switzerland, as well as a member of the group’s executive committee. She succeeds Tom Ban who has left the company.
Decker
Moss Inc., Franklin Park, Ill., has promoted Elissa Decker to vice president, Global Procurement and Textile Development.
Sweden-based Circulose recently named Jonatan Janmark CEO. The company also appointed Helena Helmersson chairman of the board. In addition, Sara Diez Jauregui, with experience with leading fashion and apparel brands, and Kalyan Madabhushi, an Aditya Birla Group associate, have joined the board.
Helsinki-based Suominen Corp. has appointed Darryl Fournier COO. He reports to President and CEO Tommi Björnman. In addition, Mark Ushpol was named executive vice president, Americas business area, and member of Suominen’s executive management team.
Textile engineer Cathy Shao has joined eVent® Fabrics, Kansas City, Mo., as Innovation director.
Harold
Courtney Harold has joined Green Theme Technologies, Albuquerque, N.M., as
head of marketing.
Cincinnati-based Michelman has named Wilma Beaty chief human resources officer. Beaty will lead the company’s global human resources operations, driving people engagement, organizational design and culture initiatives.
Apex Mills Corp. Inc., Inwood, N.Y., named Chris Rojas assistant plant manager for the company’s Aridyne facility in Graham, N.C. In other recent appointments, Marth Miller Hopkins has joined the Apex Mills’ Business Development team. In her new role, Miller Hopkins will drive growth of warp and circular knits, stretch and 3D spacer fabrics, and enhanced finishes and treatments for the activewear, shapewear, industrial and military markets, among other applications.
Dr. Eric D. Evans has joined the board at Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), Cambridge, Mass. He is director emeritus and fellow at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory and MIT professor of the practice. Evans also is the chair of the Defense Science board.
Finland-based Spinnova Oyj has joined the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), Zurich, as a corporate member.
Lee recently introduced the Lee X product platform.
Lee® — the Greensboro, N.C.-based denim brand owned by Kontoor Brands — recently introduced the Lee X product platform. Designs were created with comfort and performance in mind.
Switzerland-based Archroma has joined the BioCircular Materials Alliance. Conceived by biomaterials company Spiber Inc., the alliance encourages the wider adoption of biobased materials and chemical treatments.
Milliken & Company, Spartanburg, S.C., has earned a gold rating on its 2024 EcoVadis assessment— a rating of sustainability. The gold rating puts Milliken & Company in the top 5 percent of all organizations rated and is the third consecutive year the company has achieved a gold rating from EcoVadis.
Sunbrella’s Sunbrella Plus® fabric collection now comprises 17 color options.
Burlington, N.C.-based Sunbrella has expanded its Sunbrella Plus® collection to include 17 color options.
New York City-based design house Schumacher has opened a new 4,000-square-foot showroom in the New York Design Center. The space offers a curated selection of the brand’s portfolio including textured and solid fabrics, trims and wallpapers.
Montreal-based Gildan Activewear Inc. was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability™ North America Index for the 12th consecutive year. The company also donated $200,000 worth of American Apparel® and Gildan® garments to FireAid, a concert benefiting those affected by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles.
Designtex has eliminated the use of PFAS in its products.
Designtex, New York City, reports the company is now 100-percent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-free having eliminated the forever chemical in all of its products and inventory.
YKK Corp.,Tokyo, recently announced that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated that the company’s long-term goal of reaching net-zero green-house gas emissions by 2050 meets the SBTi Net-Zero Standard in the Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Luxury Goods category.
Office furniture manufacturer MillerKnoll, Zeeland, Mich., announced it has eliminated the use of PFAS in its North American portfolio of products.
Denver-based workwear company Truewerk recently joined the Americas Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPN), Atlanta.
New York City-based Carnegie has introduced Siltech Plus, a high-performance, biobased polyurethane coated upholstery product made using corn starch. The fabric, backed with a 100-percent post-consumer recycled polyester, comes with a 10-year warranty.
England-based Think Group recently won a National Flooring Innovation Award — which recognize businesses, products and services that are new and innovative in the United Kingdom flooring industry. Think Group’s SpringBond® Eco-Step 8mm, its latest introduction, was key in its win.
Germany-based A. Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG reports two Monforts Montex tenter lines at its Advanced Technology Center (ATC) are now equipped with Texcoat™ G4 Digital Spraying Units from St. Louis-based Baldwin Technology Co. The lines are ready for customer trials.
Researcher Amanda Forster examining near-infrared spectroscopy data obtained from clothing and textile samples. (Images courtesy of Alex Boss, NIST)
NIR-SORT, a new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) database, can be used to identify and help sort textile waste.
TW Special Report
Picture this: You have a bag of heavily used clothes that can no longer be donated taking up space in your closet, so you drop it off at your local recycling center. But what happens to that bag of clothes? You might assume that the clothes would get broken down and reused to make new products.
However, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2018 around 85 percent of used clothes and textiles headed to land-fills and incinerators1, wasting precious resources and polluting the environment. One reason is that recycling can be more expensive than landfilling, so companies have little incentive to recycle.
To help solve this problem, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Md., have developed a database that contains the molecular “fingerprints” of different kinds of textile fibers that can enable more rapid, efficient sorting of fabrics at recycling centers.
A clothing sample is analyzed using an analytical lab technique called near-infrared spectroscopy. The method measures how much of the light passes through or scatters off the fabric, producing a unique pattern — a sort of “fingerprint” that can identify the types of fibers found in clothing.
“This reference data will help improve sorting algorithms and unlock the potential for high-throughput sorting, which requires less manual labor,” said Amanda Forster, a NIST materials research engineer. Forster leads the NIST project focused on keeping end-of-life textiles in the economy, a process called textile circularity. “That should reduce costs and increase efficiency, making textile recycling more economically viable.”
The problem of textile waste has been growing in recent years. One reason is fast fashion, a business model that has companies churning out large volumes of inexpensive, trendy clothes that are often quickly discarded. New types of textiles, blended textiles, and incomplete or inaccurate labeling also pose significant challenges when it comes to sorting textiles at recycling centers.
At those centers, workers sort clothing using handheld devices that shine near-infrared light. Those devices measure how much of the light passes through or scatters off the fabric, producing a unique pattern — a sort of fingerprint that can identify the type of fibers in the clothing. This technique, called near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, can also be used in automated conveyor belt systems. However, current techniques still require a lot of manual labor.
In recent years, recycling equipment manufacturers have increasingly used machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve their sorting algorithms. To train these algorithms, they need high-quality reference data.
NIST researchers have developed a database that contains the molecular “finger-prints” of different kinds of fabrics using clothing and textile samples as shown.
That’s where NIST’s database comes in. Called the Near-Infrared Spectra of Origin-defined and Real-world Textiles, or NIR-SORT, it contains 64 different fabric types along with the NIR fingerprints they produce. The database includes single fiber types, such as cotton and polyester; blended fiber types including spandex blends; and real-world fabrics taken from thrift stores. Manufacturers of NIR scanner systems can use this database to train and test their sorting algorithms and improve the performance of their products.
“The difficulty comes in when fibers are similar, like cotton or hemp,” noted NIST research chemist Katarina Goodge, who led the development of the database. “That means that the near-infrared signal is similar. The same is true with a cotton and polyester blend. Is this a new fiber or a blend of two or more fibers? AI can help make the decision-making process more accurate.”
Because NIST is the nation’s measurement institute, it has the equipment and expertise to fill this database with very high-quality spectra. This hopefully means fewer errors when identifying fabrics, which will lead to more textiles recycled.
This research stems from a key initiative of a report by NIST2 in which experts recommended the development of better technology for identifying and sorting textiles and clothing. These efforts are part of NIST’s Circular Economy Program3, which develops measurement science and methods to support an economy where materials are designed to retain their value through repeated reuse, repair and recycling, with disposal as a last resort.
