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Is Finland the Future for Textile Circularity?

Finland is leading the charge in transitioning the textiles industry from a linear to circular economy.
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From innovative materials and business models to an upcoming Nordic recycling hub, Finland is bringing to market a slew of answers to challenges facing the textile industry. “By replacing primary raw materials with recycled components or using, for example, wood-based textile fiber, and by keeping already existing materials in the economy as long as possible, we have the opportunity to impact the huge global system and value chains,” says Marika Ollaranta, Head of the Bio and Circular Finland program from Business Finland, Finland’s trade, investment and travel promotion and innovation funding organization.

Here’s a quick rundown on Finnish firms investing in positive change within the textile ecosystem:

Rester collaborates closely with Southwest Finland’s municipal waste management company LSJH in a project that brings together the private and public sectors in textile waste handling. The Nordics’ first large-scale end-of-life textile refinement plant opens in Finland this summer. New textile recycling regulations will come into force in the EU in 2025. However, Finland aims to start the process already by 2023.

Spinnova and Infinited Fiber Company have come up with innovative ways of making fiber out of wood pulp and discarded textiles, while Emmy Clothing Company has created a transparent resale-as-a-service for clothes, which makes it possible for all actors in the ecosystem to participate in prolonging a textile’s life cycle.

NordShield has created natural-based antimicrobial technology based on renewable, natural resources without heavy metals, thus minimizing the chemical load on our environment while being cost-competitive. In its various forms, the technology can be applied to textiles and fibers as well as medical devices, plastics and even skin.