Danish fashion group Bestseller has joined forces with German cleantech company Matterr to strengthen polyester recycling and reduce textile waste. Matterr’s technology focuses on recycling hard-to-recycle polyester from worn-out textiles and packaging waste. The partnership follows Matterr’s success in securing a major €30 million grant from the EU’s EFRE/JTF program in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Bestseller’s head of sustainability, Dorte Rye Olsen, praised the collaboration, saying: “Matterr is a young company with a promising solution that can be implemented on a large scale to benefit the entire fashion industry. We believe in the scalability of their technology and the commercial potential it holds, ensuring meaningful long-term impact.”

Matterr’s chemical recycling process transforms polyester-rich waste into high-quality raw materials that match virgin polyester in performance. With financial backing from both the EU and Bestseller, Matterr plans to begin construction of a small-scale industrial plant in 2026.

“Bestseller has clear ambitions to reduce dependence on fossil resources, and recycled polyester is a key element in this journey,” Olsen added. “By investing in innovative recycling technologies, we are working toward a circular fashion system where worn-out garments are continuously reused as raw materials for new clothing.”