Jöttnar introduces NetPlus fabric made from recycled fishing nets in its Fenrir jacket and Asta gilet, while Reju collaborates with Goodwill and WM to advance textile recycling in North America.
British outdoor apparel label Jöttnar is set to introduce its first fabric made from post-consumer recycled fishing nets. This innovative material, NetPlus, will debut in the company’s Fenrir puffer jacket and Asta gilet.
NetPlus, developed by Bureo, is crafted entirely from discarded fishing nets collected from global coastal communities. This process not only mitigates ocean plastic pollution but also transforms waste into high-performance materials. By integrating NetPlus with Pertex Quantum Pro — a water-resistant, breathable fabric — Jöttnar aims to enhance both the sustainability and functionality of its products.
The environmental benefits of adopting NetPlus are substantial; its production is 20 percent more efficient in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, consumes 70 percent less water, utilizes 67 percent less fossil fuel, and requires 68 percent less energy overall compared to virgin nylon. This aligns with Jöttnar’s commitment to “embrace circularity,” promoting the prolonged use and reuse of limited resources with minimal energy consumption.
Steve Howarth, co-founder of Jöttnar, emphasizes the dual advantage of this development: “Not only is this world-first combination adding to our founding philosophy as outdoor clothing innovators, it also improves the performance of our garments through an increased hydrostatic head, resulting in more weather resistance versus our previous fabric.” He notes that the company can trace the fishing nets used back to their origins, with the initial collaboration incorporating nets from the coast of Chile.
The Fenrir jacket features 850 fill power hydrophobic goose down in a 93/7 down-to-feather ratio, with synthetic fill in the neck and cuffs to resist moisture. Updates include an improved fit, redesigned sleeves for better mobility, a concealed hood adjustment, and a self-stuff pocket, making it suitable as a mid-layer in colder conditions or as a standalone jacket. The global unveiling of the new Fenrir jacket and Asta gilet is scheduled for December 3–5 at ISPO in Munich, with public sales commencing in mid-January through Jöttnar’s channels.
In a related development, textile regeneration company Reju has announced a partnership with Nouvelles Fibres Textiles (NFT), a France-based firm specializing in recovering end-of-life textiles, to build a circular textile ecosystem in France. NFT will supply secondary raw materials from post-consumer and industrial textile waste to Reju for recycling into regenerated Reju Polyester.
The collaboration aims to expand infrastructure for collecting and processing textile waste, ensuring an open supply chain and full traceability of recycled materials. Reju’s polyester, produced through its proprietary regeneration process, is expected to have a 50 percent lower carbon footprint than virgin polyester and can be regenerated indefinitely. This process will be scaled at Reju’s Frankfurt-based Regeneration Hub Zero, which will begin production in 2025.
NFT’s materials will also support future Reju hubs across Europe. The company’s semi-industrial site, launched in 2023, integrates advanced sorting and tearing technologies to process large volumes of textile waste into high-quality raw materials for recycling. NFT’s outputs also serve industries such as insulation, composites, and nonwovens.
Reju CEO Patrik Frisk emphasized the importance of the partnership, stating, “Reju and Nouvelles Fibres Textiles are using innovation and collaboration to accelerate the transition to a circular textile ecosystem.” He highlighted the need for scalable systems to address mandatory textile waste collection in the EU starting in 2025, ensuring materials are kept out of landfills and incinerators.
NFT co-directors Eric Boël and Etienne Wiroth described the partnership as a step toward a more sustainable, local, and collaborative “permindustry.” They noted, “Our innovative turnkey solution transforms heterogeneous end-of-life textile streams into high-quality homogeneous raw materials while ensuring their traceability.”
It builds on a Reju collaboration with Goodwill and waste management firm WM to advance textile recycling in North America. This multi-year initiative aims to create a regional model for textile collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling, diverting non-wearable textiles from landfills.
Reju plans to build a U.S.-based regeneration hub to serve the American market, with certain materials collected through Goodwill and WM expected to feed into this facility. Patrik Frisk, CEO of Reju, underscores the importance of collaboration in tackling textile waste challenges: “To tackle the challenges posed by discarded textiles, we need radical collaboration and cooperation, and through our potential project with Goodwill and WM, we are building the ecosystem to achieve textile circularity.”
Goodwill’s extensive network plays a crucial role in this effort, having recovered more than 4.3 billion pounds of donated products in 2023, which supported various community-based services for more than 1.7 million people. The collaboration with Reju and WM aims to enhance the diversion of textiles from the waste stream into the recovery cycle, contributing to a circular textile-to-textile ecosystem.
Every year, the world produces more than 92 million tons of textile waste, much of which ends up in landfills or incinerated, releasing harmful pollutants into the air and soil. This figure is expected to increase by more than 60 percent by 2030 unless significant steps are taken to address the issue. At the same time, the fashion industry remains one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation, responsible for ten percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 20 percent of wastewater pollution. Brands like Jöttnar and Reju are stepping up with innovative solutions to reduce this overwhelming burden.
Ocean pollution is a parallel crisis that intersects with the environmental harm caused by textiles. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that more than 640,000 tons of industrial fishing gear — often called “ghost nets” or “ghost gear” — are discarded in the oceans annually, harming marine life and disrupting ecosystems. These nets, made of durable plastics, can persist in the environment for centuries, entangling fish, turtles, and even whales. Efforts like those spearheaded by Jöttnar, which directly reclaim these fishing nets for use in fabrics, offer a rare win-win solution: cleaning the oceans while creating high-performance materials.
Fishing nets collected through programs like NetPlus often come from coastal communities that bear the brunt of ocean pollution. For example, Bureo, the company behind NetPlus, partners with local fishermen to collect discarded nets before they cause further environmental damage. Since its founding, Bureo has removed millions of pounds of fishing gear from the ocean, preventing the release of microplastics into marine ecosystems. This partnership ensures that local communities benefit economically while contributing to global sustainability goals.
Simultaneously, the world struggles to deal with the lifecycle of textiles. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, less than one percent of all clothing is recycled into new garments. Most polyester, the dominant fiber in fashion, is derived from fossil fuels and remains difficult to recycle due to mixed fiber compositions in many garments. Innovations like those introduced by Reju aim to address this by creating closed-loop systems that regenerate polyester from post-consumer textile waste, reducing the need for virgin resources.
In Europe, upcoming regulations requiring the separate collection of textiles will further drive the need for advanced recycling technologies, setting a benchmark for other regions to follow. For consumers, this growing focus on sustainability brings a shift in how they engage with fashion. Increasingly, brands are being held accountable for their environmental footprints, with Gen Z and Millennials driving demand for transparency and eco-friendly practices.
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