Since 2020, the H&M Group has championed Circulose, incorporating the regenerated material in several collections—including the textile recycler’s first market offering. Now, the Swedish retailer has deepened that commitment as one of the first official Scaling Partners for Circulose. Through the multi-year agreement, H&M is targeting to transition a substantial share of its man-made cellulosic fiber (MMCF) to fiber made with Circulose.
“H&M Group has been a driving force in advancing sustainable and circular solutions in fashion, and a long-time supporter and early adopter of Circulose—dating back to the Renewcell days,” said Jonatan Janmark, CEO of Circulose. “We’re proud and grateful to now formalize this new partnership to accelerate Circulose adoption at scale. Their commitment plays a critical role in helping us reaching the volumes needed to restart our factory.”
Related Stories
Come December, the group aims to source all MMCF from responsible, certified sources. Or swap them with next-generation fibers made from circular waste streams—including agricultural residues as well as pre- and post- consumer textiles, like Circulose.
“Investing in next-generation materials is essential to achieving our goal: ensuring that 100 percent of our materials are recycled or sustainably sourced by 2030,” said Cecilia Strömblad Brännsten, H&M Group’s head of resource use and circularity. “Scaling access to these solutions is key to accelerating the shift towards a circular economy for fashion.”
The partnership reflects the Swedish sustain-tech company’s “renewed commercial strategy,” Circulose said, one focused on close collaboration and dedicated implementation support as well as a new licensing-based pricing model, developed in partnership with Fashion for Good and Canopy, to reduce the pain points of scaling next-gen materials. The joint initiative hopes to accelerate the shift to next-gen materials, requiring brands to license Circulose to use the proprietary fiber.
“We were pioneers back in 2020 when we first brought fashion made from Circulose to our customers,” Brännsten said. “Today, we’re excited to deepen this partnership.”
Rescued from bankruptcy by Swedish private equity firm Altor in June 2024, the resulting, rechristened Circulose continued bolstering its then-nascent supplier network (CSN) following cautions that sales failed to perform up to snuff. The network is now bundled within the Circulose Forward platform, a collection of tools supporting brands to turn ambition into action, with CSN members sourcing viscose staple fibers and filament yarns made with Circulose from global producers.
Intended to aid brands in transitioning from limited capsule collections to larger-scale usage, that license includes support services for large-scale implementation—such as transition planning, supply chain orchestration and traceability—designed to reduce price friction and spur adoption at scale.
The multi-year agreement with the H&M Group was Circulose’s third partnership unveiled over the past few days.
Earlier this week, the textile recycler teamed with Mango to shift a share of the Barcelona-based brand’s MMCF supply to Circulose’s regenerated material. Its collaboration with designer Patrick McDowell comprised an eight-look capsule developed in partnership with AGI Denim.
“This is just the beginning,” Janmark said of the now-nascent platform. “Circulose Forward will continue to grow, giving our partners access to a robust portfolio of tools that make circularity not a distant vision, but a reality–today.”
Before that, Circulose forged a partnership with the recycled pulp producer’s former puppeteer’s long-time backer, Tangshan Sanyou—the first commercial producer of Circulose-based fibers under Renewcell’s purview—in April. The Chinese MMCF manufacturer was its first major partnership since last summer’s restructuring.
