AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS: The Denim Deal has completed a pilot demonstrating how post-consumer textile waste collected in the Netherlands can be transformed back into denim, closing the loop within a national system and generating critical insights for scaling textile-to-textile recycling.
The pilot resulted in the production of 800 circular denim pieces, now available in selected Garcia stores. While volumes were intentionally limited, the primary value of the pilot lies in the learnings generated across cost structures, technical performance, and logistical barriers. These insights are essential for enabling future pilots at greater scale and advancing textile-to-textile recycling within the Netherlands.
The pilot was uniquely supported by Stichting UPV Textiel and brought together the full denim value chain, including Garcia, Sympany, Frankenhuis, Cibutex, Spinning Jenny, and Bossa. Together, the partners explored how Dutch post-consumer textiles can be collected, sorted, recycled, spun, and reintroduced into denim production under real industrial conditions.
Purpose of the pilot: building system-level insight
Rather than focusing solely on product output, the pilot was designed to capture measurable insights across three critical dimensions required to scale circular denim:
- Costs Mapping cost breakdowns at every stage of the reverse supply chain, including collection, sorting, transportation, fiber opening, spinning, and weaving.
- Trade and logistics Identifying process efficiencies, logistical bottlenecks, and structural barriers that affect the movement of post-consumer textiles through a national recycling system.
- Technical performance Assessing fiber length versus end use, fiber quality in relation to opening technologies, feedstock availability and consistency, and the relationship between material input and usable output.
Capturing these metrics enabled the Denim Deal to move beyond assumptions and document real-world constraints and opportunities that must be addressed to unlock scale.
A pilot with scale as its core objective
Scaling the use of post-consumer recycled cotton is at the core of the Denim Deal’s mission. This pilot was a deliberate step toward that goal, designed to test feasibility, expose system challenges, and generate transferable knowledge.
Working with Dutch textile waste strengthened national circular infrastructure and demonstrated how Extended Producer Responsibility can support industrial learning and innovation, not only end products. The pilot provides concrete evidence of where
interventions are needed to improve efficiency, quality consistency, and economic viability at higher volumes.
Collaboration across the full value chain
The pilot underscores the necessity of value chain collaboration. Sympany and Cibutex enabled the sorting of Dutch post-consumer textiles, Frankenhuis handled fiber opening and recycling, Spinning Jenny and Bossa transformed recycled fibers into yarn/fabric, and Garcia translated the material into a consumer-facing denim product.
In addition to material and manufacturing partners, Reverse Resources and TexRoad played a key role in providing data expertise, supporting data collection, consolidation, and analysis across the reverse supply chain.
This end-to-end collaboration reflects the Denim Deal’s approach: aligning actors across the system to jointly address technical, operational, and commercial challenges in circular denim.
From pilot completion to next phase
The completion of this pilot marks a transition point. All learnings are being captured and will be shared within the Denim Deal community to inform the next phase, which focuses on increasing volumes, improving system efficiency, and enabling replication.
The intention is to repeat this exercise at greater scale, using the insights gained to accelerate textile-to-textile recycling in the Netherlands and strengthen national circular value chains.
ABOUT THE DENIM DEAL: The Denim Deal is a multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together brands, manufacturers, recyclers, and value chain partners to scale the use of post-consumer recycled cotton in denim. Through pilots, collaboration, and shared learnings, the Denim Deal works to enable circular denim systems that are resilient, scalable, and industrially viable. www.denimdeal.net
