Circular textiles: what is needed to unlock post-consumer feedstock?

Halit Gümüşer has held various positions at KİPAŞ, launching its Technical Textiles division for protective clothing. He is a driving force in the fashion industry’s transition to textile to textile (T2T) circularity. He led the investments and partnerships that pioneered cotton T2T recycling through RCO100 mechanical recycling, and subsequently advanced T2T polyester recycling with fibR-e, where he serves as CEO and co-founder. fibR-e is the first scaled textile to textile polyester recycling platform: a next generation solution engineered to process complex textile waste streams that conventional methods cannot handle.

Mette Kirk leads the development of Fiber Family, NewRetex’s upcoming digital platform connecting the textile and recycling value chain through a data-driven system. Her fields of expertise include circular value chains, EU sustainability regulations and compliance, and textile collection and sorting infrastructures.

Sophie Bramel is a freelance journalist who has been writing on smart textiles, sportswear and fashion for the past twenty years. Consultant Technical Editor for World Sports Activewear (WSA), she has also authored several books on the history, development and future of functional fibers and fabrics.

Stefan Edkvist brings over 40 years of experience in the textile industry, with a multidisciplinary background and deep knowhow in performance, functionality, and sustainability. He has worked with well-known brands such as Fjällräven and Oscar Jacobson, Bianchi and played a key role in pioneering early efforts in sustainable production—most notably through the last 15 years integration of dope-dyeing technology from We Are Spin Dye, e.dye and now FixDye.