The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
The companies have backed Infinited Fiber Company, a Finnish recycling firm that turns textile waste rich in natural fibres such as cotton into a biodegradable and recyclable material known as Infinna, as part of its latest funding round led by existing investor H&M Group.
The recycling company secured €30 million (about $36 million), with other participants including investment companies Nidoco AB and Security Trading Oy, and Sateri, the world’s largest viscose producer.
Bestseller and H&M Group have also signed multi-year sales deals to use the Infinited Fiber Company’s Infinna fibre, the company said. Infinited Fiber Company is preparing to increase production with a new flagship factory.
This move comes amid growing interest and investment from brands in textile-to-textile recycling, as fashion players look to act on sweeping commitments to adopt more circular production methods and business models that reduce waste and keep materials in circulation for longer. Last year, Ralph Lauren took a minority stake in material science start-up Natural Fiber Welding. Meanwhile, H&M Group doubled down on its investment in recycled textile innovator Renewcell and launched a machine developed with the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel that processes and re-spins old clothes, with plans to install the machine at a handful of manufacturing suppliers.
Europe’s Parliament has signed off rules that will make brands more accountable for what happens in their supply chains, ban products made with forced labour and set new environmental standards for the design and disposal of products.
Fashion’s biggest sustainable cotton certifier said it found no evidence of non-compliance at farms covered by its standard, but acknowledged weaknesses in its monitoring approach.
As they move to protect their intellectual property, big brands are coming into conflict with a growing class of up-and-coming designers working with refashioned designer gear.
The industry needs to ditch its reliance on fossil-fuel-based materials like polyester in order to meet climate targets, according to a new report from Textile Exchange.