STOCKHOLM – H&M Group company, Weekday, has become the first fashion brand to create a garment with the new fabric of Infinited Fiber Company (IFC), a textile start-up H&M has invested in. IFC’s technology can turn textile, cardboard and agricultural waste into new cotton-like material. This smart process makes it – in theory at least – possible to recycle garments again and again without compromising on the quality.
In summer, Infinited received its largest single investment from Singapore-based manufacturing conglomerate, RGE. Since early 2018, the tech business has been operating a 50-ton per annum pilot plant in Espoo, Finland, that produces fibre for testing purposes to be trialled by global brand owners such as H&M, VF Corp and their manufacturers. The business has also leased production facilities in Valkeakoski city, Southern Finland, for a new pre-commercial 500-ton per annum plant and customer training centre that will start up in early 2020.
Ulrika Jakobsson, sustainability and material responsible at Weekday said: “Infinited Fiber Company has a really interesting new recycling technique that has potential to help Weekday in our goal towards 100 per cent recycled or sustainably sourced materials. For us, this material is extra interesting because of its cotton-like appearance and durability.”
The project started off as a test within the Circular & Renewable Innovation Lab at H&M Group, which carries out proof of concept on innovations in early stages of development. The project resulted in a decision by H&M Group’s investment arm CO:LAB to invest in IFC.
Erik Karlsson, investment manager for sustainable fashion at H&M Group’s investment arm CO:LAB, added: “IFC’s innovation perfectly aligns with H&M Group’s sustainability goals and our vision to become fully circular. IFC has proven significant potential to accelerate the journey from a linear to a circular fashion industry. We look forward to being part of developing and scaling this technology in the coming years.”
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