Shapiro’s Dutch Climate GoodNews
Shapiro’s Dutch Climate GoodNews
13 November, 2025
Every year the Netherlands – the tiny NL! – puts 300 million kg textiles into the recycling bins. Only 15% is actually recycled… Not for long? Here are 3 Dutch startups changing the game.
Saxcell
Saxcell in the Dutch town of Enschede focuses on cotton. They take cotton clothing, dissolve it into a pulp, and then they create a replica of virgin cotton to make industrial scale fabrics. For virgin cotton, every kilogram requires an average of 6000 liters of water to become fabric. Saxcell’s cotton recycling process takes only 10 liters.
[So far so good, BUT what about synthetic fibers?]
BrightFiber
Amsterdam’s BrightFiber Textiles focuses on blends, such as cotton / polyester or acrylic.
In April 2025, BrightFiber brought a new facility online in the Amsterdam harbor – with 3 machines.
1 – a cleaner that removes zippers, buttons, labels.
2 – their smart sorter machine that separates materials.
3 – is the key: the fiberizing machine. The process produces high-quality fibers ready for the spinning mill. Currently, the machines can process 2.5 millon kg of textiles per year. Long way to get to 300million.
But they may have help soon, from:
BioFashionTech
This Rotterdam startup enables bacteria to do what humans and machines can’t. First, the textiles are ground into granules. Then, they use a patented fermentation technology, in where bacteria separate the plastic fibers from the natural ones. The separated plastic can be reused as new plastic or polyester yarn. And the organic material then becomes bioplastic or biofuel.
CEO and founder Fabiola Polli imagines a future where major fashion brands and retailers have their own in-house recycling plant.
The future could also hold her biotech solution being used for waste streams of plastic and paper food packaging.
(Tune in for tomorrow’s episode where fossil fuel companies buy up all 3 startups and shut them down.)
😉
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This episode is largely based on reporting from Change.inc. Video includes images from Saxcell, BrightFiberTextiles and BioFashionTech.
More CGN Climate Good News? Here are 3 Dutch Agri-Business Game-Changers:
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/shapiros-orange-going-green/
