Spanish company Recover to supply H&M with recycled cotton

Spanish materials-recycling specialist Recover has announced a multi-year agreement with Swedish fashion giant H&M, under which it will supply RCotton, its recycled cotton fibre.

The collaboration between the two companies is not new. Recover and H&M previously developed collections using mechanically recycled cotton produced by the Spanish firm. The new agreement lays the foundations for a partnership that places greater emphasis on the sustainable sourcing of recycled materials.

“In order to increase the availability and affordability of recycled and sustainably sourced materials, we are investing in innovative solutions and infrastructure, which we are testing and developing at scale,” explained Ulf Krigsman, head of materials and components at H&M.

“Recover’s expertise and proven ability to supply recycled cotton at commercial scale make it a valuable partner in pursuing our goal of using only recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030.”

Recover had already signed a similar agreement with another major apparel retailer, the Dutch chain C&A, at the start of 2022. This four-year partnership focused on the sourcing of recycled materials. The recycler has also collaborated with the British retailer Primark.

Alongside RCotton recycled cotton, Recover has also developed RMix, a recycled cotton blend containing up to 40% recycled polyester, and RDenim, a fibre recreated from end-of-life jeans, as well as Recover One, a coloured fibre produced by shredding fabrics in similar shades.

Recover recently joined the T2T Alliance, a lobby formed at the beginning of the year by textile-to-textile recycling specialists including Circulose, Syre, Circ and Re&Up to make their voices heard by public authorities, particularly in Europe.