Amanda Geijer, Circulose’s incoming interim CEO, as the company restarts its Swedish recycling plant. Photo: Circulose
Circulose has restarted production at its Ortviken plant in Sundsvall, Sweden, which the company describes as the world’s first commercial-scale chemical textile-to-textile recycling facility. The plant turns cotton-rich textile waste into recycled dissolving pulp used to make viscose and lyocell.
The restart follows a strategy shift under private equity firm Altor, which acquired the business in 2024 after its former operator, Renewcell, filed for bankruptcy. Rather than restarting production first, Circulose focused on securing volume commitments from brands. It announced plans to reopen the plant in February with commitments from 11 brands. That number has since grown to 16.
“Our focus has been to align the production restart with confirmed demand,” said Helena Helmersson, Circulose’s executive chair and former CEO of H&M Group.
The company also announced a leadership change. CEO Jonatan Janmark, who led the restart over the past two years, will step down, and CFO Amanda Geijer will become interim CEO on Dec. 1 until a permanent CEO is appointed.
When Renewcell filed for bankruptcy, the collapse was widely read as a verdict on textile-to-textile recycling itself. But in an interview with SFF after the collapse, Tricia Carey, Renewcell’s former chief commercial officer, pointed to the system around the company. “The system challenges were bigger than any one individual or small team could solve alone,” she said.
New technologies also rarely move in a straight line. They tend to rise on a wave of excitement, hit a valley as practical limits become clear, and only then find their footing. Renewcell’s collapse showed that recycling technology alone isn’t enough; next-generation materials need buyers willing to commit to volume before production can scale. Circulose’s restart is a test of whether securing that demand first can make its model commercially viable, and the industry will be watching whether the 16 brands’ commitments hold as production ramps up.
