Brightfiber Halts Amsterdam Fibre Production As Financial Pressures Mount
Brightfiber Textiles has suspended fibre production at its Amsterdam facility with immediate effect and until further notice, citing slow demand for circular textiles and insufficient investment.
Announcing the decision on LinkedIn, Founder and CEO Ellen Mensink said production in the Netherlands had become financially unviable despite progress in mechanically recycling post-consumer textiles.
Over the past year, Brightfiber built and optimised an industrial line to convert discarded textiles into recycled fibres for yarns, fabrics and circular products. According to Mensink, the products were GRS-certified and contained at least 40% Dutch textile waste.
“The technology works. The quality is there. And competitive circular products are possible,” Mensink wrote. However, market uptake and investment had not advanced quickly enough to sustain operations.
She cited insufficient enforcement of emerging legislation, competition from ultra-fast fashion and geopolitical uncertainty affecting brands’ sustainability budgets.
Brightfiber will continue sorting textiles for reuse and recycling, using artificial intelligence to improve sorting capabilities in Europe. It will also prepare recycling materials and develop circular fibres, yarns and products with existing partners.
The company is expanding its white-label activities, with a knitted and woven collection planned for later this year, while exploring opportunities to resume fibre production elsewhere in Europe.
“We have proven that mechanical textile recycling is possible. Now we need to find a different way to make it work,” Mensink said, inviting potential partners to support its next phase.
