“The textile circular economy transition is at a standstill” – Researchers see change, but it is still happening within the boundaries of a linear economy

(For customers.) The Finix project, which is ending, pointed the way towards a sustainable textile industry. The global situation has increased the difficulty factor of the sustainability transition. Cheaper, smarter or more ecological. This is what a circular economy-based business must be like in order to displace the familiar linear model. This is how Jari Toivonen, another entrepreneur from Vilikkala in Halikko, summarizes. Vilikkala utilizes companies' waste textiles processed by Rester Oy in Paimio and uses heat and pressure to manufacture two-component felt products such as seat pads, partitions or interior design elements. Vilikkala's seat pads have been selected for the finals of the international Green Product Award competition. Photo: Susanna Vento and Jari Toivonen/ Vilikkala. Vilikkala's No more frozen bum seat pads are made from textile waste. The product is one of the finalists in the Green Product Award 2025 competition. “We are trying to come up with high-value products from mixed fibers that cannot be used in yarn production or chemical recycling,” Toivonen says. Toivonen spoke to an audience of over a hundred people at the Sustainability Leap Now seminar held in Otaniemi, Espoo, in mid-April. The event was also the final seminar of the Finix project. Vilikkala plans to establish an air-carding-based production line in Finland to provide mixed waste textiles with a domestic recycling use. “We wonder where our competitors are,” Toivonen exclaims. Changes are still...