Fast Fashion’s Slow Adoption of New Fibers Puts Green Targets At Risk
- Startup makes recycled pulp used in various clothing material
- Renewcell issued profit warning after weak uptake from brands
A worker in front of cotton cones at the warping section at a Gohar Textile Mills Pvt Ltd. facility in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023.
Photographer: Asad Zaidi/BloombergRetailers like Hennes & Mauritz AB and Inditex SA are buying only “peanut quantities” of an innovative fiber in a blow to the drive to use more sustainable materials, according to a textile recycling supplier to both fashion brands.
Magnus Håkansson, the interim chief executive officer of Renewcell AB — which produces circulose, a pulp it has trademarked made from recycled cotton and used in creating clothing materials — warned that retailers’ slow demand has been putting a serious strain on its business. Renewcell’s shares have been battered after it abandoned its forecast to break even by year-end amid lower-than-expected sales.