In 2011, four companies from the textile industry, Victor, Designtex, Steelcase and Unifi, joined forces to set up their own closed-loop system.

Let’s introduce Victor and Designtex first. These two textile manufacturers have an eye for sustainability. The first company only works with recycled polyester or Eco Intelligence® Polyester, adding no extras during production. This means the polyester can be re-recycled, which effectively closes the loop. Designtex is a transparent textile manufacturer specialized in digital printing. Both Victor and Designtex generate quite a lot of production surplus. Enter Steelcase, a furniture manufacturer, because that’s where these leftovers end up.

Steelcase lives and breathes sustainability. The company aims for a transparent production chain; it’s always on the lookout for the most sustainable materials and thinks about its products’ entire life cycle. Steelcase’s furniture is characterized by a timeless design, but if the consumer grows tired of it after a while, it can be easily dismounted for recycling. This is where our last player, Unifi, enters the stage.

Unifi collects Steelcase’s recyclables and processes the polyester and nylon into yarns. These are taken to Victor, where they are woven into fabric. At this point, the production has come full circle. The four companies form a closed-loop textile chain in which every individual organization is pushing for sustainability.