Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem, the new partnership between the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), finishing technology pioneer Jeanologia and U.S. textile-to-textile recycling firm Looptworks, aims to advance the commercial-scale recycling of blended textiles.

In doing so, the initiative underscores the critical role of cross-industry collaboration in bringing proven recycling technologies from pilot projects to commercial reality.

“Our shared goal is to accelerate textile circularity by turning innovation into industrial reality. We all believe that the industry’s biggest challenges cannot be solved by one organization alone,” said Carmen Silla, Jeanologia’s marketing director. “Collaboration across the value chain is essential to scale solutions and make circularity commercially viable.”

The companies are natural partners. With Green Machine, HKRITA has developed a breakthrough technology to solve one of the biggest challenges in textile recycling: separating cotton and polyester blends. Jeanologia has more than three decades of experience transforming textile innovations into industrial solutions that can be deployed globally, and Looptworks brings the end-user perspective, validating the technology in a real recycling operation.

“Together, we cover the entire value chain, from research and engineering to industrial deployment. That is what makes this partnership different. It is not just about developing a new technology but about ensuring it can be adopted at scale and create real impact for the industry,” Silla said.

Beyond this first deployment in Looptworks’ Oregon facility, Silla said the partners are already working on additional projects and expect two more Green Machine installations in Italy and Turkey. She noted that at this stage, they are not setting public recycling volume targets.

“Our focus is on building a scalable ecosystem that can be adopted by different types of operators, from textile manufacturers to dedicated recycling facilities. We believe that widespread adoption will ultimately have a much greater impact than any single installation,” she said.

The partners also share a vision: accelerating the transition towards a circular textile industry through collaboration. “Challenges such as textile recycling are too complex for any single organization to solve alone,” Silla said. “They require an ecosystem where research institutes, technology companies and industrial partners work together. Green Machine is a clear example of that approach.”

Research institutes, technology partners, manufacturers, recyclers, brands and retailers working together are also part of the puzzle. Silla added that circularity must become part of the industry’s pre-competitive space, where collaboration accelerates innovation and helps build the textile industry of the future.

In this partnership, HKRITA provides the scientific research and the core recycling technology, while Jeanologia contributes its expertise in industrial engineering, process design and machinery development. “We have also collaborated on the technology transfer, designing the ozone-based cotton decoloring process and manufacturing the first industrial Green Machine under HKRITA’s specifications,” Silla said.

As the first industrial user, Looptworks will play a key role by deploying the Green Machine in its recycling facility and validating the technology in real operating conditions.

“Our goal is not simply to build a machine, but to create a complete, scalable solution that can be adapted to different production environments, from self-contained textile mills to large recycling facilities,” Silla added.

Building on the engineering expertise that helped transform denim finishing worldwide, Jeanologia aims to extend its “Mission Zero” strategy beyond water circularity to material circularity.

This is where Jeanologia brings more than 30 years of experience in innovative technologies into reliable industrial processes. The Spanish company has transformed the denim industry by replacing some of its most polluting processes with its disruptive technologies like laser, ozone and nanobubbles. With H2Zero, Jeanologia delivers a closed loop system that treats water, leaving it in optimal conditions for reuse in the washing finishing processes without the need of chemicals. H2Zero has been designed to reduce water consumption and to offer the best productivity and performance with minimum electric consumption in a production center.

“With H2Zero, we help manufacturers close the water loop,” Silla said. “With Green Machine, we are taking the first major step towards closing the material loop.”