“We need to evolve from our past ways of doing things; if we stay the same, nothing will change.” With these words, RE&UP Chairman Fatih Konukoğlu set the tone for the Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2026. It wasn’t just a statement; it was a challenge to an industry at a point of reckoning. At RE&UP, we didn’t travel to Copenhagen simply to join the dialogue. We went to demonstrate that the infrastructure for a resilient, circular future is being built right now.
Cracking the formula is only the beginning
During his keynote address, “The new rules,” Mr. Fatih Konukoğlu made it clear that while “cracking the recycling formula” is a milestone, it is only half the battle. To truly tackle the 100 million tons of textile waste produced annually, fashion needs a fundamental shift in its industrial baseline.
Old infrastructures and legacy leadership styles are no longer sufficient. The “new rules” demand a radical recognition of our dependencies and a commitment to a complete circular ecosystem that moves beyond “down-cycling.” This means building a system where:
- Collection & sorting are integrated at scale.
- Upcycling preserves the molecular integrity of fibers.
- Economic viability is built into the very fabric of the supply chain.
Transforming blueprint into baseline
The summit served as a bridge from theory to execution. RE&UP’s Engin Mete (Chief Strategy and Growth Officer & CFO) represented this shift during the “Circulating value: from blueprint to baseline” workshop.
The discussion centered on a critical bottleneck: how do we transform mountains of lost post-consumer waste into consistent, recycling-ready feedstock? For RE&UP, the answer lies in our feedstock-agnostic proprietary recycling system, which is designed to turn circular ambitions into a repeatable industrial standard.
Bridging design and innovation
In a moment that perfectly captured the spirit of “dialogue meets action,” RE&UP was officially paired with MARTAN, the Grand Prize Winner of the GFA innovation program.
As a textile-to-textile recycling innovator, RE&UP will mentor MARTAN to explore how circular solutions can be integrated from the very first design concept through to final delivery. This partnership is proof that the new rules can empower fashion without compromising on aesthetic or performance standards, proving that the future of design is circular.
The action for renewal is here
We can no longer afford to look at recycling in isolation. Whether through defining sector-level alignment on end-of-life strategies or scaling our capacity to 1 million tons by 2030, RE&UP is committed to advancing global circular economy.
The dialogue in Copenhagen was powerful, but the infrastructure we are building is what will drive lasting change.
