Chemical recycling of textiles advances, shakily

These are topsy-turvy times for the nascent textile recycling industry. The clothing behemoth H&M Group has cofounded a textile recycling firm that promises to become a huge global producer just as H&M's former textile recycling partner, Renewcell, goes bankrupt. Meanwhile, the Finnish textile recycling start-up Infinited Fiber has raised $44 million. H&M, the venture capital firm Vargas Holding, and the private equity firm TPG Rise Climate have formed Syre, which will undertake the textile-to-textile recycling of polyester fibers at industrial scale. The three founders have made a total initial investment of about $60 million in Syre to fund the construction of its first plant, which is slated to open later this year in North Carolina. Headquartered in Stockholm, Syre plans to have 12 plants worldwide by 2034 that will produce a total of over 3 million metric tons (t) per year of polyester fiber . H&M has agreed to buy