Taking to the stage on Earth Day, day 4 of Stockholm Climate Week, Renewcell hosted one of the sessions highlighting climate solutions and action. We announced the finalized construction of our new textile-to-textile recycling factory in Sundsvall, which will be used to transform old clothes into recycled materials for new ones.
Renewcell’s mission since its inception has been to provide a means for the fashion industry to become truly circular. Unsatisfied with the climate-harming status quo of sourcing new materials for clothes and other textiles, Renewcell has endeavored to be the link in the supply chain that improves the circularity of the fashion & clothing industry.
On April 22nd, Renewcell CEO, Patrik Lundström joined the live broadcast from Space Arena, Stockholm to share their insights on the next steps towards this goal.
Patrik Lundström highlighted the impressive steps Renewcell has already taken during Stockholm Climate Week.
Alongside recycling a paper mill to build our own factory in Sundsvall, and relying solely on renewable energy to power the plant, Patrik shared that in the month prior to Climate Week, Renewcell has “delivered about 1,500 metric tonnes of materials, or 3 million pairs of jeans worth of recycled materials.”
But Renewcell isn’t stopping there, as we’re ramping up operations to “60,000 metric tonnes in 2023”, with a long-term goal for “360,000 metric tonnes by 2025/26”. This came with a somber note though, as this would only represent roughly 0.2-0.3% of the overall global textile production.
In other words, circular production needs to be scaled and we are already working with large clothing brands to make this happen.
We’re also looking to build plants closer to our stakeholders across the world; in North America, Europe, and Asia; in an effort to reduce the transportation emissions required to deliver materials globally.
“I always talk about the opportunities of sustainability and circularity… It’s a fantastic business opportunity and I want to help and energize others to do more towards circularity because that’s how we’re going to save the planet in the end.”
Patrik shared the stage with Felicia Reuterswärd, Impact Lead Resource Use & Circular Impact at H&M, and she resonated with Patrik’s sentiment, stating that “collaboration is key” and that “recyclers, manufacturers, brands, and governments” have a role to play in reducing the significant climate impact of the fashion industry.
Patrik was keen to iterate how recycled materials need to be normalized for the everyday consumer “without greenwashing”, effectively creating a status quo for recycled materials rather than new ones.
Ending on an uplifting and motivational note, our CEO stated that things are moving in the right direction, and with the proper “snowball effects” across industries and with stakeholders, circular fashion can become an integral part of the green economy.
https://youtu.be/CpRtb1Lz3oU?t=9493
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Such an interesting discussion from Stockholm Climate Week! The future of fashion is circular 🍃