RE&UP Recycling Technologies, Sci-Lume Labs and Syre are among new members of the Zurich-headquartered International Textile Manufacturers’ Federation (ITMF).

The three companies were also the winners of the 2024 ITMF Start-up Award announced at the federation’s annual conference held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, this September.

Re&Up has this year secured a €70 million loan from Proparco, a finance institution partly owned by the French Development Agency which promotes sustainable investment.

The funding is supporting the construction of a new textile-to-textile recycling facility in Gaziantep, Turkey, based on advanced mechanical and thermomechanical technologies and building on the 100-year textile heritage of Turkey’s Sanko and its more than 330 patents related to fibre processing.

“By becoming a member of ITMF, RE&UP is joining a unique organisation providing important data that allows us to better assess the short and long-term evolution of the textile industry,” says Re&Up general manager Andreas Dorner. “Furthermore, ITMF’s members are from along the entire textile value chain from around the world which helps in building an international professional network that is even more important when it comes to circularity.”

Sci-Lume Labs, based at the Francis Tuttle Technology Centre in Oklahoma, is a new start-up company dedicated to developing a new synthetic fibre called Bylon.

The patent-pending bio-based and biodegradable apparel yarn will serve as a replacement for conventional nylon.

“All stakeholders in our industry need to work together to develop the sustainable and circular solutions the world needs,” says Sci-Lume Labs CEO Oliver Shafaat. “Platforms like ITMF play a vital role in enabling the transition to a more circular textiles industry.”

Syre, a new company initiated by Vargas and H&M Group which launched in March this year, has secured a $100 million Series A funding package.

Supported by a ground-breaking off-take supply agreement with H&M, Syre plans to establish multiple plants producing circular polyester across the globe via chemical recycling, reducing CO2 emissions by up to 85% compared to the production of oil-based virgin polyester.

The Swedish company plans to have 12 production plants up and running at full capacity by 2032, producing more than three million metric tons of circular polyester.

“Having access to ITMF’s conferences, workshops, webinars, and publications provides start-ups with a comprehensive view of the industry and enables them to connect with relevant players,” says Syre sustainability and public affairs director Stina Billinger.

“For ITMF it is important that start-ups become corporate members,” adds ITMF director general Christian Schindler. “Companies along the textile value chain see the necessity to make the industry circular and textile-to-textile recycling is a core step to reach this objective. To scale and speed up circularity, collaboration needs to intensify across all segments. ITMF offers a unique industry network from fibre producers via textile machinery manufacturers to integrated producers of apparel and home textiles.”

www.itmf.org