Textile-to-textile recycling: Reju partners with Antex in Europe and Utexa in Central America

Textile-to-textile regeneration company Reju announced today that it has entered into partnerships with Antex and Utexa, multifilament yarn producter with manufacturing locations in Europe and the Americas. The companies will be validating Reju’s proprietary material, Reju Polyester, for commercial adoption in multifilament yarns for textile applications.

Yarns produced at Antex’s plant in Girona, Spain and at Utexa’s plant in Choloma, Honduras are scheduled to be utilised by Reju’s brand partners for garment development and analysis of near shore supply chains by this October.

“These partnerships accelerate the development of high-quality, sustainable yarns meeting the growing demand for environmentally responsible, regionally sourced textile solutions,” commented Reju CEO Patrik Frisk in a press release.

“By combining the proven manufacturing capabilities of Utexa and Antex with Reju's polyester, we will drive meaningful change in the textile industry, demonstrating the ability to produce high quality yarns and fabrics within the continents where our Regeneration Hubs will be located. Aligning with these mills enables us to deliver products that not only meet the expectations of conscious consumers, but also, contribute to a more sustainable future for the planet,” added Frisk.

Tackling the mountain of post-consumer polyester waste

Reju uses VolCat technology from IBM research, enabling the selective breakdown of polymers and addressing hard-to-recycle polyester garments. While some may question the use of polyester, fact is that we are facing a mountain of waste polyester today.

“Polyester textile waste is one of the biggest sustainability challenges faced by our society. It is the most widely used type of synthetic fibre in the world. According to Textile Exchange data from 2022, over 60 million tonnes of polyester fibres are produced annually, yet less than 1 percent of global textile waste is recycled into new fibres for clothing according to 2012 data by the European Commission,” said Frisk in an earlier interview with FashionUnited.

Reju's regeneration process provides a 100 percent textile-to-textile recycled polyester with a carbon footprint about 50 percent lower than that of virgin polyester. It is also of the highest grade for textile applications, thus avoiding the thermal degradation, contaminants and co-monomers often associated with thermo-mechanical recycling processes.

The new partnerships are part of Reju’s strategy to make a dent in the regional post-consumer textile waste problem. By focusing on the local challenge of post-consumer waste and identifying partners in-region, the collaborations advance a near-shore supply chain option that can improve flexibility and time-to-market for brands.

Building local circular textile systems

Thus, the new partnerships will also help build a new circular textile system that enables the aggregation of textile waste as well as the sorting and preparation infrastructure for recycling to be built and scaled. This will allow extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes to become possible in the regions. The partnerships will also provide opportunities for diversifying.

“Reju’s circular polyester aligns perfectly with our commitment to sustainable innovation, speed and efficiency for textile supply chains. As a global producer of multifilament yarns, we are proud to help bring this next-generation material to life, delivering performance, quality and environmental responsibility at industrial scale,” said Marta Molist, innovation and sustainability director at Antex, a Spanish textile group founded in 1969 with industrial plants in Spain, Brazil, Mexico and Poland.

“Working with Reju reinforces our mission to advance textile innovation and speed in the Americas. We look forward to exploring the full potential of Reju Polyester and setting a new industry standard in sustainable yarns,” stated Utexa president Jon Pavlansky. Honduras-based Utexa serves the CAFTA region and the Americas.

Reju also partnered recently with Nouvelles Fibres Textiles (NFT), a French pioneer in end-of-life textile recovery, to establish a complete circular ecosystem for textile waste in France, and with Rematrix, a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) from Vicenza in Italy, to secure a compliant and sustainable supply of end-of-life textiles.