SOLSTICE Newsletter

From Lab to Industry: Advanced Recycling of Elastane and Polyurethane

Less than 1% of clothing materials are recycled into new garments (closed-loop recycling), around 12% are downcycled into lower-value products (open-loop recycling), and approximately 73% end up in landfills or incinerators.

Finding suitable and innovative recycling processes for textile waste is therefore a priority, especially for fibre-to-fibre systems. However, only a few fibre-to-fibre recycling technologies currently are efficient, and most are highly sensitive to contamination, limiting their application to mono-material waste streams. SOLSTICE is working on developing more of these technologies.

SOLSTICE partners Leitat Technological Center and Next Technology Tecnotessile conducted a research on elastane and polyurethane, exploring new recycling and upcycling solutions for two of the most challenging materials in textile waste.
Their work focuses on improving the recovery of fibres and valuable components from EL-blended and PU-coated textiles, helping to advance more circular and scalable approaches within the textile industry.

Read more about Leitat & NTT’s research

Co-Designing Circular Fashion in Prato

In June 2025, at PrismaLab in Prato, the workshop “La rivoluzione dall’armadio – Co-progettiamo il futuro dei nostri vestiti” marked the start of a local path toward circular fashion. Organised by greenApes and the SOLSTICE partner Comune di Prato the event engaged citizens in co-designing solutions for more conscious consumption and sustainable fashion, following the principles of the 5Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle, Redesign.

SOLSTICE’s repair workshop in Berlin

In July 2025, Circular Berlin held the launch of the Repair Deal, a denim repair bonus scheme developed within SOLSTICE.
In collaboration with DAWN Denim, the team hosted a week of public activities at the DAWNHAUS in Berlin, including free denim repairs, mending workshops and sustainable styling sessions.

SOLSTICE in Dornbirn-GFC

In September 2025, Recyc'Elit joined the Dornbirn-GFC in Dornbirn, Austria.
As a meeting point for key stakeholders in the textile value chain, the conference served as an ideal venue for Recyc'Elit to present SOLSTICE’s latest developments, engage in knowledge exchange, and emphasise the project’s circularity objectives.

SOLSTICE at the ECOSYSTEX Conference 2025

At the end of September 2025, SOLSTICE partners attended the ECOSYSTEX Conference in Sweden, showcasing circular initiatives across the project’s four pilot territories. Circular Berlin highlighted its jean repair pilot, while Axel’One presented the project’s 5R strategy, including smart sorting technologies, digital product passports, innovative chemical recycling, and services supporting circular consumer behaviour. TECHTERA, Next Technology Tecnotessile, and Circle Economy also hosted a workshop exploring replication opportunities, market needs, and trends driving the sector’s sustainable transition.

Gamification App for sustainable behaviours

On 7 November 2025, the Municipality of Prato and GreenApes launched the gamification app for the Prato city Pilot, designed to help citizens adopt more sustainable clothing habits. The app offers interactive content, a digital map of local reuse and recycling points, community sharing features, and a gamification system that rewards positive actions with discounts, experiences, or charitable donations.

SOLSTICE GA in Prato!

In late November 2025, the SOLSTICE consortium gathered in Prato, Italy, for its fourth General Assembly and the regional event “From Demonstration to Scale: Regional Circular Textile Innovations in Prato.” Over two days, 82 participants from industry, research, and public authorities discussed project progress, upcoming impact assessment work, and developments from the four regional pilots. The programme included practical workshops, updates on tools and technologies such as TECHTERA’s Valoramix, advances in sorting and chemical recycling, three thematic sessions, and an industrial visit to Lanificio Faliero Sarti, showcasing how Prato is advancing circular textile solutions toward real-world scale.

Meet Enrico Venturini from NTT

Can you tell us about your role in the SOLSTICE project?
My role is leading the exploitation and replication of project results. It is a challenging and complex at the same time, as the possibilities are endless, but very focused.

What has been your most significant contribution to the project so far?
A big part of the work is still to be done, so far we have collected and optimised the project KERs (Key Exploitable Results), created a group of stakeholders and an advisory board of experts, prepared a workshop that took take place at the ECOSYSTEX Conference 2025 in Gothenburg.

What’s your favourite aspect of working with the SOLSTICE team?
What has impressed me the most about SOLSTICE team is the high level of professionalism and commitment. Every member of the replication and exploitation task has proved to be very skilled on the technical topics and highly committed in creating the necessary network.

Can you share a memorable moment or achievement the team had together?
There have been many hard-working moments, both during the in-person and virtual sessions. Among them, one of the most outstanding highlights took place at the end of September during the ECOSYSTEX Conference, where an interactive workshop with the wider ECOSYSTEX community generated valuable ideas and collaborations.

Do you have any personal goals or aspirations tied to this project?
Definitively, I think this is a great support to the improvement of my personal skills, network and business ideas. The objective of seeing SOLSTICE results adopted by industries or replicated in other territories or sectors is the best possible remuneration for the hard work performed and a reason for personal satisfaction.

What are you most looking forward to as the project progresses?
Involving external actors and disclosing them the results achieved is definitively the best part. This create empathy, energy and motivation for carrying on this work. Dealing with European projects is a daily discover that keeps up the mood and make you learn something new everyday.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or REA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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