Circ to open first full-scale commercial facility in France

US textile recycler Circ has announced plans to open a facility in France dedicated to the recycling of used polycotton textiles into new materials. The plan was confirmed at the 2025 Choose France Summit by the country’s president Emmanuel Macron.

Set to be located in Saint-Avold, the new facility is said to be “the first of its kind to recycle post-consumer and post-industrial polycotton textiles” into raw materials for the textile industry. It will also be Circ’s first full-scale commercial facility and will serve as its flagship, representing “a turning point for the company’s growth”.

Circ said that once operational, the site will have the capacity to process 70,000 metric tons of polycotton material a year. Construction is scheduled to start late-2026, with full operations targeted for 2028.

The decision to choose France, and specifically Saint-Avold, for the facility intertwines with the country’s “forward-leaing circularity policies” and “commitment to green innovation”, Circ said. Additional facilities are also planned for North America and Asia in the coming years, as the company looks to “meet global demand”.

In a release, president of Circ, Peter Majeranowski, said: “This is the moment we’ve been building toward since Circ was founded. Our first full-scale facility will push circular fashion over the critical tipping point in the global economy, proving that the future of textiles can be decarbonised, closer to waste-free, and regenerative by design.

“It’s not just a major milestone for Circ, but a breakthrough for the entire circular economy at a time when the planet urgently needs scalable climate solutions.”