The effort brings together The Fashion Pact and Fashion for Good, with The Ellen MacArthur Foundation contributing strategic design input.
The group offers a “structured framework” for brands and suppliers to address persistent barriers to scaling next-generation and recycled textile fibres.
The initial focus will be on fostering voluntary, aggregated demand, exploring financial mechanisms, investigating supportive policy options, and delivering practical adoption tools.
Circular Fibre Collective aims to address the fragmented demand, insufficient financing, and lack of developed recycling infrastructure that currently limit the fashion industry’s use of textile-to-textile recycled and next-generation fibres.
These persistent challenges have resulted in only a minor share of global fibre production coming from recycled sources, particularly those derived from post-consumer waste, despite brand pledges and increased regulatory pressure.
Analysis from Boston Consulting Group and Fashion for Good suggests that, with effective collaboration, the capacity for these fibres could reach up to two million tonnes and account for about 8% of global production by 2030.
To drive adoption, the initiative will focus on building voluntary aggregated demand, exploring financial mechanisms, mapping material supply, and providing practical tools such as the Fashion for Good Fiber Club and dedicated support cohorts to help brands overcome commercial barriers.
The Fashion Pact executive director Eva von Alvensleben said: “The Circular Fibre Collective demonstrates the power of collective action. Together, we can bring a strong, unified voice to accelerate the scaling of textile-to-textile recycled and next-generation materials. By sending a clear market signal through CEO leadership, we believe this will drive both investment and adoption across the industry.”
Fashion for Good managing director Katrin Ley added: “We’ve been working with brands on next-generation material adoption long enough to know that good intentions don't move markets — shared engagement does. The Circular Fibre Collective is built on that premise, and our Fiber Club work gives us a concrete foundation to build from.”
Each partner will contribute specific expertise to the effort. The Fashion Pact will lead voluntary aggregated demand efforts and explore financial structures, while Fashion for Good will oversee the development and management of tools such as the Fiber Club and Toolkit.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation continues to provide input on circular economy principles.
The formation of the Circular Fibre Collective follows consultations with 25 prominent fashion brands and relies on research from Fashion for Good and BCG’s February 2025 report, which anticipates that up to 13 million tonnes of next-generation and T2T materials could enter the market by the end of this decade.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation chief strategy and innovation officer Joe Murphy said: “It was great to have supported the design of this initiative. The vision of a circular economy for fashion and textiles is clear. The past decade has built real momentum behind it. Now is the time to move to implementation at scale and initiatives such as this are an important step on the long term journey.”
