ETSA News

To celebrate Re&UP joining the European Textile Services Association (ETSA), we sat down with Andreas Dorner, General Manager, to learn more about their vision for circularity in the textile service industry. As a pioneer in transforming post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste into high-performance recycled fibers, Re&UP is driving real-world solutions that prove sustainability and durability can go hand in hand. 

What motivated Re&UP to join ETSA, and what do you hope to achieve through this partnership?
Joining ETSA felt like a natural next step for us at RE&UP. After all, if we're serious about closing the loop, we can't do it solo. The textile service industry handles massive volumes of garments, particularly workwear, which often end their life in landfill or incineration. We want to flip that script. With innovations like our work with ISKO Pro, where we've developed high-performance workwear fabrics made with our recycled fibers, we've already shown that circular solutions can meet the toughest durability standards. Partnering with ETSA gives us the opportunity to take this further. Collaborating with other members to scale real-world solutions across the industry. We see this as a powerful platform to develop fit-for-purpose recycling systems, push for smarter policies and make circularity a commercial and operational reality without compromising on performance, cost, or quality. Because if circularity is going to work, it has to work for everyone. 

 How is Re&UP addressing sustainability in its operations, and how do you see ETSA supporting these initiatives?
 At RE&UP, circularity is the core of all our activities and we are already at scale! Our entire operations are built around taking post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste and transforming it into next-gen recycled   cotton and polyester fibers. These aren't just token blends, they're high-performance, industry-ready alternatives that don't ask brands to compromise on quality, price, or availability. Through ETSA, we're excited to   amplify this work. We see opportunities to team up on sector-wide initiatives, support smarter regulations and share best practices with members tackling similar challenges. It's also about learning, especially when it   comes to handling materials from the industrial textile sector, which is one of the trickiest waste streams out there. We're here for the challenge.

 How do you plan to leverage your partnership with ETSA to promote or exchange best practices, especially in areas like energy efficiency, waste management, or water conservation?
 We put circularity to work! The lines are running 24/7 and at capacity producing around 80ktons of Next Gen fibers. Through ETSA, we're looking forward to jumping into working groups, collaborating with key players in   this industry, sharing what we've learned and learning even more in return. Textile waste isn't just a "fashion problem", it's a systems textile problem where collaboration is key. The industrial textile sector is a great   example: garments are durable, treated heavily and not exactly easy to recycle. But that's where RE&UP thrives by transforming the complex into the circular. From our side, we bring deep expertise in fiber recovery and   circular material innovation and we're keen to apply this knowledge to help reduce waste and water use across the service industry. At the same time, we're always curious to hear how others are improving energy   efficiency or rethinking logistics. We're big fans of collective intelligence!

 Which EU policies or directives do you think will have the biggest impact on the textile service industry in the coming years, and how should companies prepare to adapt?
 There's no doubt that the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) will be game-changers for the industry. For too long, textiles have flown under the regulatory   radar, but that's changing fast. RE&UP is positioning itself as a solution provider for companies navigating this transition. Shifting from linear to circular models doesn't happen overnight, but with the right partners (hi,   ETSA!) and the right tools, it's absolutely possible. We're also firm believers that performance shouldn't be a casualty of sustainability. That's why innovations like our work with ISKO Pro are so important. Developing   high-quality recycled fabrics that meet the rigorous demands of workwear is proof that circularity and durability can go hand-in-hand.

 How does Re&UP approach innovation, and what are some of the recent innovations or technologies that you are most proud of?
 Our team is constantly refining, testing and pushing the boundaries of what textile recycling can achieve. We've engineered proprietary processes to extract and regenerate fibers, even from heavily blended garments   that were previously considered unrecyclable. One recent innovation we're particularly proud of is our collaboration with ISKO Pro. Together, we're developing a new generation of workwear fabrics with high recycled   fiber content, designed specifically for durability, comfort and performance. It's real-world circularity, already in motion.