According to the United Nations Environment Program, approximately 92 million tons of textile waste is produced annually, with the vast majority ending up in landfills or being incinerated. This amounts to a garbage truck full of clothes being discarded every second. This figure is projected to rise to 134 million tons by 2030. While there are many regulatory actions underway in parts of the States, implementation progress is slow.

Enter Reju…a textile-to-textile regeneration company which has selected the site for its first U.S.-based industrial facility, marking a significant milestone in its efforts to scale globally. This future Regeneration Hub will be in Rochester, N.Y., reinforcing Reju’s commitment to the adoption of circular textile system across key regions worldwide. The Rochester site will be located in Eastman Business Park on 18.9 acres with a facility of approximately 145,000 sq. ft. It is expected to create about 70 new jobs, including roles for engineers, technicians, and production staff.

Currently, Reju has one fully operational site, located in Frankfurt, Germany, which serves as its demonstration and pilot facility. That site has a production capacity of approximately 1,000 metric tons of recycled polyester annually and has been operational since October 2024. Other sites the company is working on are located in France and The Netherlands. This means that Reju has real-world experience in recycling at scale with a proven technology developed in collaboration with IBM Research.