Cotton recycling facility to open in Vietnam

Spanish cotton recycler Recover has unveiled a manufacturing venture in Vietnam.

Recover specialises in recycling cotton fibre and cotton fibre blends and the Vietnamese plant is said to mark a significant milestone in the company’s global expansion plans.

The facility is set to be operational by early 2025 and Recover will boost sustainability in the growing Vietnamese textile production market. Situated in the Dong Nai province, the factory’s location was chosen due to Vietnam’s role as the third-largest textile exporter worldwide.

Global partner

‘With this new facility, Recover positions itself close to both textile waste sorting and manufacturing operations, reducing the costs and footprint tied to shipping,’ the company says. ‘It also enables Recover serve as a true global partner for the industry’s demands, supplying brands in all major textile production markets with timely and efficient access to its materials.’

Spanning nearly 14 000m2, the factory will feature Recover’s optimised recycling technology and initially operate with two recycling lines, providing an annual production capacity of 10 000 tonnes. It will also include a dedicated laboratory for quality control.

One of the facility’s primary products will be RMix from cotton-polyester blends. The process eliminates the need to separate fibres, overcoming a long-standing industry challenge in polycotton recycling and offering a significant sustainable advantage in terms of energy efficiency.

Expansion

‘Our expansion into Vietnam is a crucial step in our strategic business plan,’ says Anders Sjöblom, ceo at Recover. ‘Circularity is currently an underutilised tool for the Vietnamese textiles industry and, by bringing our advanced technology to a key textile hub, we are not only enhancing how we serve our customers by expanding our global manufacturing footprint but also creating a positive shift towards circularity in Vietnam.’

Recover, headquartered in Spain, initially expanded its operations with a second manufacturing facility in Bangladesh in 2022.