Renewcell And Kelheim Fibres Form Collaboration To Establish A European Closed Loop For Fashion
Image Courtesy of Kelheim Fibres
Today, Renewcell and Kelheim Fibres Gmbh have signed a Letter of Intent for a long term commercial collaboration to add the crucial missing link for a circular economy for textiles in Europe.
Together, the two technology leaders will collaborate on developing commercial scale production of superior quality viscose fibers from up to 10 000 tonnes of Renewcell’s 100% textile recycled material Circulose® annually.
The collaboration paves the way toward a fully European closed loop in which textile waste is collected, recycled and regenerated into new Circulose® fibers for people that want to reduce their fashion footprint significantly.
“European fashion consumption has great impact on climate and the environment globally. It also contributes to tremendous amounts of waste going into landfill and incinerators either in Europe or abroad after export. We will now work with Kelheim to prevent waste and reduce the need for virgin resources, while also enabling a fully regional supply of low impact circular fibers for textiles” comments Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to work closely with a partner like Kelheim, who is at the leading edge of innovation and sustainability in this industry” he adds.
Craig Barker, CEO at Kelheim Fibres adds: “We see an excellent fit between our two companies, not only on the technical side – with Renewcell we have found a highly professional partner who shares our vision for future-forward technologies that enable full circularity in the textile chain. Finding the answers to the challenges of our times is what drives us every day.
Our recycled cellulose fibre solution – made of Renewcell’s Circulose® and manufactured using environmentally sound processes at our Kelheim plant – is an answer to the fashion industries need for sustainable, resource- and waste-reducing solutions, and a more regional and reliable supply chain.”
About Kelheim Fibres
Kelheim Fibres is the world’s leading manufacturer of speciality viscose fibres.
Every single day, with our 500 employees at the Kelheim site, we work to offer our customers only the very best.
What distinguishes us are reliability, flexibility, quality, environmental awareness, innovation and a close partnership with our customers.
Our competence has a long tradition:
We have been producing sustainable viscose fibres in a wide variety of cutting lengths, diameters, cross-sections and colours in Kelheim since 1936.
Around 90,000 tons of fibres leave our plant every year and are used all over the world.
Our fibres are mainly used for clothing, hygiene and medical products, speciality papers and technical applications.
About Renewcell
We’re a fast-growing Swedish sustaintech company with a unique textile recycling technology and a world-class team of people on a mission to change the fashion industry for the better.
Our vision is to inspire an Industrial Evolution to a sustainable world.
In July 2014 a model walked down a catwalk and into history.
The yellow dress she was wearing was made out of blue jeans that had been recycled with Renewcell’s patented technology.
Following growing interest for from the fashion industry, the first industrial scale Renewcell plant opened in Kristinehamn, Sweden in 2018.
In 2020 garments made from Circulose® recycled in Kristinehamn became available for anyone to buy from leading brands worldwide.
Renewcell had proven that recycling clothes finally works.
