Reconomy’s Reverse Logistics Group Partners with Cibutex to Advance Textile Circularity

According to company reports, Reconomy and its brand Reverse Logistics Group have partnered with Cibutex to strengthen circular solutions for Europe’s business-to-business textile sector, as the industry faces growing pressure to improve recycling infrastructure and comply with evolving sustainability regulations.

The collaboration aims to accelerate textile circularity across industrial and commercial textile supply chains by combining RLG’s expertise in extended producer responsibility (EPR) compliance and reverse logistics with Cibutex’s established network of textile producers, industrial laundry operators and recyclers across Europe.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Cibutex was established in 2021 by five textile service companies and has expanded to include around 60 members across EU countries and Switzerland. The network focuses on developing scalable circular systems for business textiles, including collection, reuse and recycling solutions.

Through the partnership, RLG will support Cibutex members with regulatory guidance and operational expertise as European textile sustainability rules continue to tighten. RLG currently manages more than 40 producer responsibility organisations and take-back systems across 15 countries, helping brands navigate increasingly complex multi-market recycling obligations.

The agreement also expands RLG’s textile recovery ecosystem by strengthening access to sorting and recycling partners capable of supporting both closed-loop and open-loop textile recycling systems.

The partnership comes at a critical time for the textile recycling industry. While B2B textiles are generally considered easier to recycle than consumer textiles because of more consistent material compositions and traceable supply chains, large volumes of industrial textiles still end up in downcycling, energy recovery or landfill disposal.

Recent research released by Reconomy highlighted several structural barriers preventing large-scale textile circularity, including fragmented collection systems, limited material tracking data and underdeveloped end markets for recycled textile materials.

As the European Union advances new textile waste and recycled content regulations, industry groups are increasingly focusing on scalable recovery infrastructure and cross-border collaboration to improve material traceability and increase textile recycling rates.

The partnership reflects a broader industry trend toward building integrated textile recovery networks capable of supporting the transition to circular supply chains while reducing dependence on virgin textile materials.

Source: Reconomy

SUNSHINE Spotlight: Reconomy and Cibutex are joining forces to scale circular solutions for Europe’s B2B textile sector as regulatory pressure and demand for textile recycling infrastructure continue to grow.