Madewell, Reformation and C&A partner with Fiber Club from Circ to accelerate use of recycled textiles

Lifestyle brand Madewell, Los Angeles-based fashion brand Reformation, and European retailer C&A are three of the newest brand partners to join the Fiber Club initiative from Circ, a US-based textile-to-textile recycler.

The three new brand partners, together with fiber manufacturer Lenzing and Linz Textil, a European manufacturer of yarns, fabrics and terry goods, join other brands such as Ellen Fishers, Zalando and Bestseller, as well as supply chain partners Arvind, Birla Cellulose and Foshan Chicey in tackling issues such as minimum order size and pricing that have traditionally slowed the adoption of new materials. 

“Joining the Circ Fiber Club is a natural extension of Madewell’s commitment to sustainably sourced materials and more circular fashion,” said Katie O’Hare, VP of Sustainability at J Crew Group, in a statement. “We’re excited to support transforming textile waste into new possibilities and collaborate with peers on solutions that move the industry forward.”

By combining demand across the pulp, fiber, and yarn stages, the Fiber Club aims to help brands move beyond pilot programs toward full commercial launches and long-term material commitments. Every brand that is part of the initiative, launched in January 2025, is developing collections using Tencel | Circ with Refibra technology, which is made from 30 percent recycled polycotton textile waste supplied by Circ. Circ provides recycled pulp, which Lenzing then transforms into lyocell fibers, and Linz Textil spins the said fibers into yarn.

The brand partners then work with their existing fabric and garment partners to integrate the material into their supply chains. Through this approach, brands already using Lenzing’s fibers can more easily adopt Circ materials while expanding production capacity for circular textiles. “By removing traditional volume constraints, they’ve given us a much clearer and faster pathway to develop and integrate next-gen and higher recycled-content fibers into our long-range strategic materials portfolio,” said Nikki Player, senior director of raw materials at Reformation, in a statement. “It’s made the whole process of scaling sustainable materials feel much more collaborative and achievable.”

The Fiber Club initiative aims to support brands as regulatory, commercial, and consumer pressures accelerate the shift to circularity. Proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies in the US and Europe signal that brands will need to take greater accountability for textile waste and invest in recycling systems. With the use of recycled materials becoming an important part of business models, the need for commercially viable, scalable solutions that can be integrated into existing supply chains grows.

“With Circ’s technology proven, the next phase of scaling is to lower the barriers to commercialization,” said Peter Majeranowski, CEO of Circ, in a statement. “Brands are increasingly facing pressure from the market to reduce waste and use better materials, and there’s a shared understanding across the industry that the status quo can’t continue. The Fiber Club model operates within existing manufacturing systems to address the costs and complexity that have held brands back, making circular materials viable today.”