Business: Textiles / Finland
High fibre
Finland has unexpectedly become a world leader in sustainable textile production, with companies pioneering new and sometimes secret technologies.
At Infinited Fiber Company’s pilot factory in Espoo, Finland, Jari Ekblad keeps a close eye on the 20-metre-long machine churning out his company’s Infinna-fibre, which is made from textile waste. “Please, no close-up photos of this,” he says. The chief supply chain officer’s caution is understandable; his company’s technology is ground-breaking and the Spanish multinational Inditex, owner of Zara, Bershka and Massimo Dutti, recently signed a three-year, €100m deal to buy a third of the fibre that Infinited Fiber produces, starting in 2024. In…