Swedish textile recycler Renewcell has been declared bankrupt by the Stockholm District Court. The company made its filing for bankruptcy on Feb. 25.
Renewcell has failed to secure the capital and liquidity to complete the strategic review it announced in November 2023 and maintain operations. It had been negotiating with its two largest shareholders, H&M and Girindus; with its existing lenders, BNP Paribas, the European Investment Bank, Finnvera (partial guarantor), Nordea and AB Svensk Exportkredit; and with potential new investors.
“This is a sad day for the environment, our employees, our shareholders, and our other stakeholders, and it is a testament to the lack of leadership and necessary pace of change in the fashion industry,” said Michael Berg, Chairman.
By its own description, Renewcell recycles “cellulosic textile waste, such as worn-out cotton clothes and production scraps,” to produce a proprietary material called Circulose. It holds a patent on the method, which it says yields “100% textile-to-textile recycling,” and has invested some SEK 1,300 million (€116.3m) in its recycling plants. The company was founded in 2012 by members of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and trades as RENEW on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market.
As we reported in August, Renewcell had announced, at the Shanghai Yarn Expo, a joint commitment to increase the production of man-made cellulosic fiber (MMCF) in China with the manufacturer Tangshan Sanyou and the environmental non-profit Canopy.
