Circulose restarts Ortviken plant to bring recycled cotton pulp back to market
Circulose has announced the restart of its commercial-scale production facility at Ortviken in Sundsvall, Sweden. The company plans to resume production of CIRCULOSE®, a recycled pulp made entirely from discarded cotton textiles, in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Preparations at the site are already underway. The company expects new pulp to be produced before the end of the year, helping maintain supply to existing partners.
The Ortviken facility was built to recycle cotton-based textile waste into dissolving pulp that can be used to make new fibres. Instead of relying on virgin raw materials, the process uses worn-out garments as its primary input. This helps reduce the amount of textile waste sent to landfill or incineration while supporting fibre-to-fibre recycling.
In 2024, Circulose came under new ownership by private equity firm Altor. The company then adjusted its strategy to focus on securing production commitments from brands before restarting operations at scale. With commitments now in place from 11 brands, Circulose is moving ahead with the relaunch.
The company has also established partnerships with fibre producers Tangshan Sanyou, Aditya Birla, and Jilin Chemical Fiber to support the conversion of recycled pulp into new man-made cellulosic fibres.
At present, customer orders are being fulfilled using inventory produced earlier by Renewcell, prior to its bankruptcy. This has allowed continuity while the Ortviken plant prepared to restart.
With operations resuming, Circulose aims to supply the fashion industry with recycled raw material at commercial volumes. The restart of Ortviken marks a return to full-scale production and reflects continued efforts across the sector to scale practical textile recycling solutions that can work within existing manufacturing systems.
