Renewcell Wins 2023 Nordic Council Environment Prize
Inditex supplier Renewcell won the 2023 Nordic Council Environment Prize, underscoring its impact on the movement toward sustainable textile production and consumption.
Awarded Tuesday by the Norwegian Crown Prince and Princess during a ceremony at the Oslo Opera House, the 300,000 Danish kroner ($42,000) prize raises awareness of the organizations working to benefit the environment in the Nordic region. This year’s theme centered on sustainability in the textile sector, highlighting those changing the way textiles and apparel are made, worn and disposed of.
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The Nordic Council’s adjudication committee said the recognition showcases innovators and pioneers advancing the transition to a circular fashion industry. Stockholm-based Renewcell was noted for its “groundbreaking solution for recycling and reusing textile waste for use in new clothes and products.” The company’s patented textile material, Circulose, is endlessly recyclable, and Renewcell is the first and only virgin-grade recycled textile-to-textile solution available at commercial scale.
Circulose is made from post-consumer cellulose-based apparel and textiles and that are recycled into new fiber mass for use in sectors like fashion and home goods. The solution was developed through research at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in 2012, which focused on creating an end-of-life solution for worn-out cotton clothes or production waste. According to the Nordic Council, Renewcell has also revitalized industrial areas for its operations, and supports local jobs.
After reporting slower-than-expected sales on Circulose last month and hiring a new CEO, Renewcell signed a 2,000-metric-ton Circulose offtake agreement last week with Inditex, the parent of Zara and Pull&Bear. It has also grown the Circulose Supplier Network it launched in July. This network now includes 116 textile supply chain stakeholders which can supply Circulose to brands and retailers. Renewcell also formed a partnership with Finland-based sustainable fiber creator Spinnova, which will spin Circulose fibers into bio-based textiles at scale without harmful chemicals.
“In a situation where we must first and foremost reduce consumption as well as extend the life of textiles and introduce circular business models, Renewcell’s pioneering process for recycling and reusing textile waste to make new textiles is key to closing the cycle in the textile industry and enabling a circular fashion industry,” the Nordic Council said in a statement.
“The textile industry poses many challenges—social, environmental, and climate-related,” it added. “The dominant business model in textile production and consumption is one based on low-quality products, fast fashion, and ever-growing consumption.”
“Sustainable textile production and a greater awareness of textile consumption in the Nordics can help to encourage positive development on a global level,” they said.
Bringing together officials from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and ?land, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council are two key forums for official Nordic cooperation.
Seven projects were nominated for the Nordic Council Environment Prize, including the Copenhagen Fashion Week Sustainability Framework from Denmark, Norway-based apparel pattern producers F?brik, Infinited Fiber Company, the Finnish maker of Infinna recycled cellulosic fibers, Finland’s Remake EkoDesign, an upcycling-focused design studio, Red Cross Iceland and Pikumini, a Greenland thrift store that sells recycled goods.
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