Sustainability and Circularity Updates
The industry is constantly unleashing new projects, innovations and collaborations designed to improve sustainability and reuse. With this series, Carved in Blue brings you the latest in sustainability and circularity news so you can stay up to date on developments.
Textile Recycling News
European textile industry groups including Recycling Europe and several textile industry associations, are calling for an update of EU textile labeling rules to better reflect the growing use of recycled fibers and support the transition to a circular economy, advocating the introduction of digital labels to improve transparency, traceability and consumer access to product information. Research shows that consumers ignore and/or remove physical labels.
The UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) asked the UK government to clarify textile waste rules, warning that unclear guidance could disrupt legitimate reuse and recycling activities. UKFT urged the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to recognize overseas sorting as part of circular textile systems and provide clearer implementation guidance. The association called for faster introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes and greater investment in textile sorting infrastructure to support the sector.
The UK Advertising Standards Authority banned advertisements from Adidas, Uniqlo and Calvin Klein after ruling that their recycling-related claims could mislead consumers about product content. The regulator found that shoppers were likely to interpret terms such as “recycled” as meaning products were entirely made from recycled materials unless stated otherwise. The decision reflects growing scrutiny of sustainability marketing in the fashion industry and increasing efforts to curb greenwashing.
Paris-based polyester textile-to-textile recycler Reju joined Recycling Europe Textiles, strengthening collaboration to accelerate textile recycling and circularity across Europe. The partnership comes as Reju expands its commercial recycling footprint, including a large-scale regeneration facility in the Netherlands. Moreover, Reju opened its first North American R&D center in Pennsylvania. The facility will advance polyester recycling, mixed-fabric processing and new circular chemistry solutions, building on the company’s “Volcat” depolymerization technology. By locating the lab within Technip Energies’ research infrastructure, Reju gains access to expertise in catalysis, process development and industrial scale-up.
Australia’s Pact Group acquired a stake in Plan B Circular, a UK commercial-scale polyester textile-to-textile recycler. The partners expect upcoming EU regulations to drive demand for recycled textile feedstock and encourage brands to secure textile-to-textile sourcing channels ahead of implementation with expertise in fashion industry supply chain through its Retail Solutions division collecting and redistributing used plastic garment hangers from retail stores globally.
Vietnam invited H&M Group and its recycling venture Syre to contribute to the development of sustainability regulations for the textile sector, while Syre received an investment certificate for a planned $750 million polyester textile-to-textile recycling plant in Binh Dinh province, targeting a 2027 construction start and supplying recycled polyester to customers including Nike and Target.
Circulose added four new brand partners such as Eileen Fisher, Marimekko, Samsøe Samsøe and King Louie, while preparing to restart production at its Ortviken, Sweden facility in the fourth quarter of 2026 following the restructuring of the former Renewcell business under owner Altor.
El Corte Inglés is leveraging its textile take-back and re-use programs to comply with the EU ban on destroying unsold clothing, footwear and accessories. The retailer recovered more than 100 kiltons of waste in 2025, avoided over 61 kilotons of CO2e emissions and expanded Zero Waste certification to more than 330 locations.
Acc. to the Textiles Intelligence report “Managed workwear services: a circular textile economy ahead of the game“, providers such as Alsico, Elis, Lindström and Mewa have developed circular service models in which garments are tracked, repaired, laundered, and ultimately recycled. By retaining ownership and managing workwear as an asset rather than a product, these companies extend lifespans and improve material recovery.
General Sustainability News
An analysis by the Textile PRO Forum based on input from 12 Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) across 11 European countries found significant differences in textile Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems, including registration, reporting, payment and processes and called for harmonization to reduce compliance complexity for companies operating across multiple markets; recently, also highlighted by EURATEX.
Four of Europe’s largest manufacturers, ArcelorMittal, ThyssenKrupp, Voestalpine and BASF, called for an immediate overhaul of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), arguing that the current carbon price of 75 euros per ton CO2 is eroding the competitiveness of European industry vs. the U.S. and China. The companies warn of carbon leakage, plant closures and layoffs, despite industry receiving significant free allowances.
ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals) announced stricter guidance on managing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in textile, apparel, footwear and leather manufacturing, focusing on eliminating intentionally added PFAS in manufacturing inputs, strengthening testing and screening methodologies and issuing updated Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) guidance, with a broader PFAS communication planned for October 2026.
Germany, France and the Netherlands, supported by Slovenia and Denmark, called on the European Commission (EC) to tighten Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) requirements for ultra-fast fashion by introducing stricter recycled-content, durability and recyclability standards. The EU already removed the 150-euro customs-duty exemption for non-EU imports (effective 1 July 2026), introduced an 3-euro fixed customs duty per product group, and will ban large companies from destroying certain unsold consumer goods from July 19, 2026.
A new report by Transformers Foundation a non-profit focused on transparency and systemic issues in the denim and textile industry, stated that most current fiber traceability systems are unlikely to meet emerging EU and U.S. evidentiary standards, as claims on origin or recycled content often rely on documentation rather than product-level proof; the report notes that over 10,000 shipments were detained under the UFLPA in 2025 and that the UFLPA entity list now includes 144 companies.
India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry is developing a sustainability certification framework for exporters to improve traceability, carbon accounting and supply-chain transparency, with a focus on helping textile and apparel manufacturers comply with emerging EU and UK sustainability requirements, while gathering industry input to identify products most likely to face new compliance obligations. This might reduce differentiation from European suppliers on sustainability credentials and traceability compliance and narrow the sustainability and compliance gap between Indian exporters and European suppliers.
An EU-wide inspection of 132 clothing items found that 37 percent (49 samples) were incorrectly labelled for fiber composition, with failure rates reaching 80 percent for scarves, 54 percent for tops and 46 percent for online purchases, highlighting widespread traceability and compliance issues in textile labelling. The highest failure rates were shown in natural/artificial fiber blends (64 percent) and natural-fiber blends (46 percent) versus 15 percent for single natural-fiber products; specific fiber types such as viscose, modal or lyocell were not mentioned.
A survey of 103 suppliers across Lindex’s textile supply chain found that awareness of microfiber pollution remains low despite increasing environmental concerns. More than half of respondents had never received information on the issue, while mitigation measures were limited across production facilities. The study highlights the need for stronger regulations, incentives and industry engagement to reduce microfiber emissions.
Textile Exchange’s Annual Report 2025 shows that global fiber production reached a record 132 million tons in 2024, up 34 million tons since 2015, with polyester accounting for 59 percent of total output and 88 percent of polyester still derived from virgin fossil sources; the report highlights that rising polyester volumes are the main reason the sector remains off track to achieve its target of cutting raw material emissions by 45 percent by 2030. GHG emissions from material production increased by around 6 percent year-over-year in 2024 and are now 20 percent above the 2019 baseline, with polyester responsible for roughly 43 percent of total material-related emissions, while man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) accounted for about 39 megatonnes of CO2e of the sector’s approximate 370-megatonne CO2e material footprint in 2024.
Bluesign updated its 2026 chemical standards to align PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) limits with new regulations in France, Sweden and the proposed European Union (EU) restrictions, while also expanding PFAS testing guidance and clarifying the distinction between PFAS and fluorinated non-PFAS dyes. Additional updates include new restrictions on flame retardants and colorants, and revised testing methods, with implementation deadlines of July 1, 2027, for chemical inputs and July 1, 2028, for finished products. Fashion For Good launched a new collaborative project to benchmark water- and oil-repellent PFAS alternatives.
The European Commission (EC) has launched the EU’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) Registry and testing environment, providing the infrastructure for registering DPPs and supporting compliance, transparency and data interoperability across the EU Single Market. The Registry, introduced under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), is supported by new implementation rules, harmonized standards and technical resources ahead of the first DPP requirements taking effect for certain large batteries on February 18, 2027; the system will subsequently be rolled out to product groups, including textiles.
The Earth Action report “From Shedding to Solutions,” supported by The Nature Conservancy and industry partners including Patagonia, Under Armour and Decathlon, estimates that more than 63 kilotons of microfiber emissions enter the environment annually from textile manufacturing. The study emphasizes that microfiber emissions are a systemic issue affecting all fiber types, and finds that coordinated action across product design, manufacturing and wastewater management could reduce environmental leakage by up to 95 percent by 2032.