Circ to build industrial-scale polycotton recycling plant

Circ, the U.S.-based pioneer in textile-to-textile recycling, has announced plans to open the world’s first industrial-scale facility dedicated to recycling used polycotton textiles into new raw materials. The announcement, made at the 2025 Choose France Summit, marks a pivotal moment for both the company and the global push toward a circular fashion economy.

The new facility will be located in Saint-Avold, in France’s Grand Est region, chosen for its strategic location, skilled labor, and advanced logistics. Once operational, the plant will process up to 70,000 metric tons of post-consumer and post-industrial polycotton textiles annually, transforming a previously unrecyclable material into valuable textile-grade inputs through Circ’s patented hydrothermal technology.

Polycotton is used in the majority of modern garments but has long been considered impossible to recycle at scale. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the fashion industry accounts for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the vast majority of textiles ending up in landfills or being incinerated.

Circ’s technology separates and recovers both polyester and cotton from polycotton blends, materials that together represent 77% of the global textile market. This innovation offers a tangible path to reduce the industry’s dependence on virgin materials and curb emissions associated with textile production.

“This is the moment we’ve been building toward since Circ was founded,” said Peter Majeranowski, President of Circ. “This facility will push circular fashion past a critical tipping point, proving that textiles can be decarbonized, closer to waste-free, and regenerative by design.”