Sweden's Renewcell set out to enhance the sustainability of the fashion industry, but it filed for bankruptcy just a year later

When Renewcell AB opened its inaugural commercial factory in 2022, it was hailed as a beacon of hope for a more sustainable future in fashion. Launched in a repurposed paper mill in Sweden, the world’s first industrial-scale textile-to-textile recycling plant represented a project of unparalleled ambition that would pave the way for an entire new industry. Just over a year later, on Feb. 26, Renewcell filed for bankruptcy. The decision came four months after the public company issued a profit warning over slow sales of Circulose, the biodegradable pulp it...