The Swedish textile recycler previously known as Renewcell has tapped a “true dream team” to help it navigate market pitfalls as it drums up demand for its dissolving pulp following its death, rebirth and the furlough of the industrial-scale mill it had optimistically designated as Renewcell 1.
The rechristened Circulose, which emerged from bankruptcy as a new company under private equity firm Altor in June, named on Friday former H&M Group CEO Helena Helmersson as its chairman of the board and McKinsey & Company veteran Jonatan Janmark as its new CEO.
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Janmark replaces Magnus Lundmark, previously Renewcell’s chief operating officer, who will return to leading operations. Another Magnus—Håkansson—temporarily headed the then-Renewcell after former chief Patrik Lundström’s highly publicized departure last October, when a profit warning sent the company’s stock price crashing and its financial troubles became apparent to anyone who wasn’t paying close attention. It managed to raise $10 million from H&M and Girincubator, its largest investors at the time, to give it some breathing room, but it was quickly clear that this wasn’t enough to bail it out of a capital crisis born, in part, from a lack of meaningful offtake.
“A challenger like Circulose, with the power to make the textile industry circular, will need experienced and world-class leaders to drive that change,” Clara Zverina, principal at Altor, said in a statement about the duo, who will assume their roles on Dec. 1. “We are taking action on that now, and we are immensely proud to attract Helena and Jonatan, a true dream team. Their experience and expertise are key for us to secure a stable and successful path for Circulose moving forward.”
Helmerrson and Janmark won’t have an easy road ahead. The same pitfalls remain: Brands and retailers are being stretched from all directions due to geopolitical uncertainties and other economic pressures, rendering sustainability a falling short-term priority despite encroaching eco-design legislation from Europe in the longer term. Material innovations require a bigger buy-in than their conventional counterparts in terms of cost, resource allocation and the effort it takes to tweak and tune upstart fibers to match incumbents’ performance, consistency and scale. The lack of a mature, fully functioning ecosystem that can facilitate the movement of castoff clothing and other textiles in the necessary volumes and specifications is another obstacle, one that becomes increasingly problematic as competition for feedstock ramps up.