Spain-based textile design soft-ware company Penelope CAD has joined Italy-based Textile Solutions Group (TSG), parent company of Datatex. The acquisition aims to create an integrated ecosystem that bridges creative design and technical production, combining Penelope CAD’s advanced design and simulation tools with TSG’s expertise in production planning, management and optimization.
The collaboration will offer businesses a seamless workflow from design to production, boosting efficiency and innovation. Datatex will play an active role in integrating Penelope CAD’s software with its proven enterprise resource planning and supply chain solutions, providing clients with comprehensive tools to optimize their textile operations.
Japan-based Teijin Frontier Co. Ltd. has developed a next-generation comfort material for active and functional apparel, combining contact cooling functionality with sweat stickiness prevention. The dual-layer, knit structure alternates hydrophobic and hydrophilic WAVERON™ yarns, where the hydrophilic yarn absorbs perspiration, and the hydrophobic yarn keeps skin dry. The outer layer disperses moisture, enhancing comfort during physical activity.
Targeted for the 2026 spring/summer sports and outdoor apparel season, Teijin aims to sell 100,000 meters initially, expanding to 1 million meters annually by 2028, including applications in functional fashion. The fabric is made from 100-percent recycled polyester and uses per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS)-free water-repellent technology, supporting sustainability goals.
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.
