Irish fast-fashion retailer Primark has entered into a multiyear offtake agreement with textile-to-textile recycler Circ to purchase recycled polyester for use in its clothing from 2029. The deal, struck as Circ advances plans for its first industrial-scale recycling facility in northeastern France, represents Primark’s first long-term commitment of this kind with a textile-to-textile recycler. Financial terms and volumes have not been disclosed by either party.
A Commercial Pathway Built on Long-Term Commitment
For Circ, the agreement carries considerable weight as the company works to build out commercial-scale capacity. The deal provides visibility on future demand — a critical requirement when seeking investment and financing for large infrastructure projects.
Circ CEO Peter Majeranowski described the agreement as a meaningful step in translating shared ambition into a concrete commercial pathway. He noted that Primark’s multiyear commitment to incorporate Circ’s recycled polyester into its products helps reduce market risk, strengthens the case with investors and financing partners, and allows the broader supply chain to plan for integration.
Circ’s planned facility in Saint-Avold, northeastern France, is designed to process 70,000 metric tons of textile waste per year. The plant is expected to cost approximately $500 million and is being developed through a combination of equity, debt, grants, and guarantees. Majeranowski was clear that the Primark agreement alone does not finance the facility, and that Primark is not directly funding its construction. A project of this scale, he said, requires a broader package of mixed capital sources.
Why Primark Chose Circ
Primark spent approximately 18 months evaluating textile-to-textile polyester providers before selecting Circ. According to a Primark spokesperson, a defining factor was Circ’s dual-stream solution — its ability to recycle polycotton, widely regarded as one of the hardest-to-recycle and most abundantly available material blends in the fashion industry. The location of Circ’s planned French facility was also a contributing consideration.
Primark stated that it recognized not only the opportunity to source recycled textile polyester but also the potential to contribute to solving a broader material challenge. The retailer reported that 39 percent of its clothing units sold in its most recent financial year contained recycled fibers, up from 32 percent the year prior. Primark has also committed to removing conventional materials from its clothing by 2030. The Circ partnership adds another route toward reducing reliance on virgin materials, alongside Primark’s existing work with recycled fiber suppliers including Recover.
The Technology Behind Polycotton Recycling
Circ’s technology is designed to separate polycotton blends into their component materials — recovering cellulose from the cotton component and PTA and MEG, the chemical building blocks of polyester, from the polyester component. The company noted that its process requires feedstocks meeting defined technical specifications and that have been properly sorted and prepared.
Majeranowski acknowledged that the challenge is not a shortage of textile waste, given the abundance of polycotton available globally, but rather sourcing feedstock that meets the technical requirements of Circ’s process. To address this, the company is developing a diversified supply pipeline and working with partners on sorting, preparation, traceability, and feedstock qualification.
Primark echoed this broader concern, noting that scaling textile-to-textile recycling across the industry will depend on established waste collection and sorting infrastructure, including higher collection rates and automated sorting capabilities, alongside advanced recycling technology and policy frameworks such as clear extended producer responsibility schemes and recycled-content mandates.
Financing and the Role of Demand Signals
Majeranowski highlighted the relevance of the Primark deal to Circ’s broader financing efforts. When building first-of-a-kind infrastructure, he explained, investors and lenders require confidence not only in the technology but also in the existence of sustained and growing commercial demand for the materials the facility will produce. A long-term agreement with a global retailer committing to defined volumes of Circ’s recycled polyester, he said, converts broad market interest into a tangible demand signal and helps reduce commercial risk while reinforcing the foundational economics of the project.
Circ has indicated that construction of the Saint-Avold facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, with the company targeting the use of its recycled polyester in Primark products from 2029.
Broader Context: Primark’s Evolving Circularity Strategy
The agreement comes as Primark continues to develop its approach to circularity more broadly. The retailer confirmed it is currently reviewing its Primark Cares strategy, originally launched in 2021, in light of evolving regulation, technological developments, and shifting consumer expectations across Europe.
On the wider question of the fashion industry’s environmental impact, Majeranowski noted that textile-to-textile recycling alone cannot be considered a complete solution. He pointed out that if clothing volumes and virgin material consumption continue to rise simultaneously, the environmental benefits of recycling can be outweighed by the industry’s growing overall impact. In his view, the industry must address both the volume of resources it consumes and the material systems underpinning its products.
