From Waste to Profit – Unlocking Industrial-scale Textile Recycling in Europe

On 7 September 2023, Creamoda, EURATEX, Fedustria, and Resortecs welcomed 150 changemakers from 20 countries in Brussels to discuss the future of the fashion and textile industries.

Resortecs unveiled its latest report, “From Waste to Profit”– A Comparative Cost Analysis of Textile Disassembly Processes, available for download here, and highlighted the financial and operational benefits of Active Disassembly compared to the status quo disassembly methods – manual and mechanical.

Dirk Vantyghem from Euratex gave an insightful update on the EU Textile Strategy launched last year with the aim to create a greener, more competitive textile sector. Textile products placed on the EU market need to be therefore more durable, repairable, recyclable, and to a great extent made of recycled fibers.

Textile recycling was highlighted as one of the solutions to drive change at scale and grow with environmental compliance, but getting there without losing the essential industrial competitiveness is of key importance for the sector.

The panel discussions with Fedustria and industry leaders Concordia Textiles, Sioen, and BekaertDeslee – moderated by Christine Goulay from Sustainabelle, resulted in a number of interesting insights and testimonials on the efficiency and applicability of Active Disassembly for the textile sector.

Carl Baekelandt, Demet Tunc, Ivan Deceuninck, and Karla Basselier shared their expertise as circularity pioneers. Here are three takeaways from the insightful discussions:

1. There are now 16 legal changes focusing on the sustainability and circularity of fashion and textile companies rolling out across the EU — and more will follow.

2. 78% of all textile products require disassembly before textile-to-textile recycling.

3. Europe is becoming increasingly dependent on recycling textile waste due to 1) the shortage of raw materials and 2) the prohibition of recycled R-PET from the packaging industry for use in other sectors.

In addition, all guests also had the chance to explore Circularium and witness a live demo of Smart Stitch™ & Smart Disassembly™.

The need of collaboration to unlock industrial-scale recycling in Europe was eminent at the networking dinner & drinks at the end of the event. The connections made are testament to the commitment of all stakeholders along the textile value chain to make circularity a reality.

Have you already downloaded your free copy of the report ‘From Waste to Profit’ — A Comparative Cost Analysis of Disassembly Processes? Download it here.

What’s inside?

• The best-performing disassembly method for achieving maximum financial and operational efficiency.

• How different disassembly methods compare across four textile product categories: multilayer outdoor jackets, cotton trousers, aramid-based workwear, and mattress covers.

• How fashion and textile brands can transform product recycling into a source of ROI rather than costs at the end of a product’s lifecycle. 

• What policymakers and brands should do to keep the European textile and fashion industries competitive.

Resortecs is one of the 13 winners of the Make it Circular Challenge!

On May 3, the 13 winners of the Make it Circular Challenge were announced. A total of 650 circular initiatives from over 20 different countries participated in the highly competitive challenge organized by the IKEA Foundation and What Design Can Do.

According to the challenge’s international jury, Smart Stitch™ and Smart Disassembly™ “represent the very best of design innovation and have the potential to make a significant impact in promoting sustainability and circularity.”

The Make it Circular Challenge

The competition was launched last year by WDCD and the IKEA Foundation to identify and support some of the world’s most promising circular innovations and enterprises. From hundreds of entries worldwide, 13 exciting visions for a restorative and regenerative future were selected, from seaweed packaging to waste-based textiles and upcycling marketplaces.

In addition to a €10.000 prize fund, the winners of the Make it Circular Challenge will have access to a six-month-long development program. The program was co-created by experts from the global Impact Hub network, providing the winning teams with the expert mentorship, guidance, and tools they need to grow their businesses and expand their impact on the world. The International Jury, consisting of 11 influential figures in circular design and entrepreneurship, including Bas van Abel (Fairphone), Corinne Gray (Unreasonable Group), Arthur Huang (Miniwiz), and Tamara Streefland (Built By Nature), was responsible for determining which of the 50 nominees had the most potential and would best benefit from this development program.

Selected by Secrid

Resortecs is also one of the three special projects to receive additional press and assistance. Secrid, a carbon neutral wallet producer, has chosen the 3 winning projects as part of their Impact Fund program, pledging to devote 1% of its revenue to bringing together designers and supporting their efforts to create products that enhance the planet’s natural and social equilibrium. By supporting Resortecs, Secrid aims to accelerate the development of the next generation of designers and promote change in our industries.

• Seed investment and EIC grant combined, the startup is tapping into €4.7M to boost production in 2023 and increase tenfold its disassembly capacity in 2024.
• Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, highlighted the importance of funding circular entrepreneurship in a visit to the startup’s warehouse in Brussels.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – 26 April, 2023 – Belgian startup Resortecs has raised €2.2 million in a seed investment round led by Brussels-based ScaleFund and finance&invest.brussels. Founded in 2017, the fashion tech company develops design-for-disassembly technology to make textile recycling fast, easy, and cost-efficient.

makesense_invest, AFI Ventures (the impact arm of Ventech), Trividend, and PDS Limited also joined the funding round, which follows a €2.5 million grant received from the European Innovation Council (EIC) in 2022.  In total, Resortecs is tapping into €4.7 million to boost production this year and finalize the development of a continuous disassembly line, scaling up tenfold its pre-recycling processing capacity to 10T/day in 2024. 

Currently, less than 1% of fashion’s production is recycled, meaning a yearly loss of materials worth €500 billion and placing the sector in the world’s top 5 polluting industries. Behind these figures is the complexity of sorting recyclable and non-recyclable materials. 

With Smart Stitch™ (heat-dissolvable thread) and Smart Disassembly™ (industrial-scale thermal disassembly system), Resortecs enables brands to make textile products designed to be easily sorted and disassembled for recycling. Bershka, Decathlon, and H&M already use Resortecs’ Smart Stitch™ heat-dissolvable threads in products sold in over 60 countries.   

“Our goal is to reduce the textile industry’s carbon footprint by 40 billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2040. For that, we have to think big and take design for disassembly beyond fashion. Our headcount has doubled in less than 6 months. In just a few weeks, Smart Stitch™ will also be found on the world’s first mattress covers designed for disassembly, made in collaboration with Belgian sleep industry leader BekaertDeslee.” – explains Cédric Vanhoeck, Resortecs’  co-founder and CEO.

The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, visited the startup’s warehouse in Brussels on 26 April and highlighted the importance of investing in Belgian circular entrepreneurship:

“As Europe does not have many natural resources, we have to make a choice: we can either look at everything we have already produced as waste, or consider it as potential future raw materials to protect the planet. Innovations like this are key to strengthening our industrial competitiveness. Resortecs is a fine example of green growth and Belgian innovation that is ready to take the world!”

Resortecs, Tomorrowland, Paul Bowens, and Amandine David are the big winners of the Henry van de Velde Awards 2023 !

On Tuesday evening, February 7, all winners of the Henry van de Velde Awards received their coveted prize at Bozar in Brussels. In addition to the announcement of who won gold, silver and bronze within the 9 project categories, the winners of the 4 main prizes and the Public Award were also announced.

The jury of the Henry van de Velde Awards, one of the largest award ceremonies in Belgium, “believes in the impact and growth of the company and hopes that their innovative developments will now also find their way into the design world,” according to the statement about the award ceremony.

Henry van de Velde Award for Resortecs

The Henry van de Velde Awards are often referred to as the Oscars of design in Flanders. They are the oldest (this year is the 29th edition), best known and most prestigious design awards in Belgium. Winning an award, therefore, opens many doors, at home and abroad. ​​​​The awards are organized annually by Flanders DC, but the selection of the winners is always done by a carefully composed jury. In addition to chairman Chris Baelus, members of the jury this year included Herman Konings, Katrien Laporte, Max Borka, Elien Haentjens, Ronald Bastiaens and Siegrid Demyttenaere.

Resortecs was considered by the jury a role model in applying the principles of ecodesign. In 2021, Resortecs was also crowned Changemaker of the Year at the Belgian Fashion Awards. 

Other parties from the fashion and textile industry can be found among the other winners of the Henry van de Velde Awards. For example, Amandine David received the Young Talent Award. David specializes in traditional crafts such as weaving and pottery in combination with digital production. MyBlanket won Gold in the Consumer Awards category for a rain cover that wheelchair users can attach over their legs without assistance or standing up. No Time To Waste won the Design Research Awards category, which uses fluff, a by-product of the textile industry, and explores its possibilities.

The Henry van de Velde Awards are organized annually in Flanders DC and were made possible thanks to the support of the Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO), Bozar, Z33, the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM), the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) and Bokrijk.

More information via ​https://www.henryvandevelde.be/

Resortecs is the laureate of Viva Technology & 50inTech’s #FemaleFounderChallenge of 2022! Vanessa Counaert, our co-founder and Strategic Lead, was crowned female founder of the year for Resortecs’ innovation, scaling potential, and solution impact.

The #FemaleFounderChallenge is an initiative that puts female entrepreneurs at the front and aims to accelerate the financing of women-led startups and to urge Venture Capital (VC) funds to commit to more gender equality at all levels. Resortecs was one of the 5 finalists of the challenge, selected out of over 500 applicants from 69 countries.

As the new winner, Vanessa and Resortecs get access to a substantial platform of visibility from Viva Technology – VivaTech is the biggest European event for technology and startups.  Additionally, the laureate also gets private meetings with the #FemaleFounderChallenge’s high-level VC jury, a speaking opportunity with Maddyness, mentoring sessions on fundraising with Claire Calmejane from Société Générale, and last but not least, a startup booth at VivaTech 2023.

It was very inspiring for Resortecs to be surrounded by so many female entrepreneurs, with a special shout out to the other 4 finalists: Charlotte Gaudin from AML Factory, Shusma Shankar from Deep Planet, Lilia Leye Shwartsman from MICA AI MEDICAL, and Bola Bardet from Susu.

We are looking for our next Development Engineer, are you the one?

Are you a driven Engineer with an experience in product / mechanical systems development?

If you are passionate about the circular economy, textiles, and technology, this is your opportunity to join a startup leading the clean-tech revolution that will shape the future of fashion!

Check the full job description and apply via the link below:

– Development Engineer

You will be joining a dynamic and challenging start-up environment! Resortecs is a small and driven international team that is leading the transition towards the circular economy.

This is your opportunity to have huge personal and professional growth. This position has substantial responsibilities, networking opportunities and rapid-progress learning in an innovative atmosphere.

Resortecs strives to grow an inclusive environment, where individual differences are recognized, respected, and responded to in every possible way that makes our people thrive. That’s why all applicants are given equal opportunity regardless of age, gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, language, disability, religion, socio-economic status, or sexual orientation. Each employee’s distinctive experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints help us build a more resilient, fun, and innovative future for fashion.

Are you the Innovation Engineer we are looking for?

Are you a driven Engineer with a strong interest in generating knowledge from experimentation?

If you are passionate about the circular economy, textiles, and technology, this is your opportunity to join a startup leading the clean-tech revolution that will shape the future of fashion!

Check the full job description and apply via the links below:

– Innovation Engineer

You will be joining a dynamic and challenging start-up environment! Resortecs is a small and driven international team that is leading the transition towards the circular economy.

This is your opportunity to have huge personal and professional growth. This position has substantial responsibilities, networking opportunities and rapid-progress learning in an innovative atmosphere.

Resortecs strives to grow an inclusive environment, where individual differences are recognized, respected, and responded to in every possible way that makes our people thrive. That’s why all applicants are given equal opportunity regardless of age, gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, language, disability, religion, socio-economic status, or sexual orientation. Each employee’s distinctive experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints help us build a more resilient, fun, and innovative future for fashion.