Recycling Gets a Reprise, And What OpenAI’s PwC ChatGPT Enterprise Deal Means For Fashion

There’s still time to join the open call for presenters at this year’s 3D Tech Fest!

From now until June 14th, the 3D Tech Fest team are accepting proposals for presentations from across the fashion industry, with a particular emphasis on innovation, impact, and the increasing influence that digital culture has on physical products, as well as the hugely important role that digital design plays in shaping the physical world.

If you have an original perspective you would like to share as part of the premiere 3D-focused online event for 2024, you can submit your proposal via the 3D Tech Fest form here.

We look forward to seeing our readers represented as both presenters and audience members for 3DTF later this year!

Renewcell’s revival: a renaissance for textile-to-textile recycled materials?

When it was announced that Swedish textile recycling company Renewcell was filing for bankruptcy back in February of this year, many in the fashion industry felt a flicker of despair. Renewcell had been a beacon for industrialising the process of textile-to-textile recycling since founded in 2012, and its bankruptcy after failing to secure sufficient financing was not a positive sign for those in the industry advocating for sustainability. 

But now, Swedish firm Altor Equity Partners has acquired the remaining assets of the company and has changed Renewcell’s name to Circulose. This refers to the material, produced by the former Renewcell, from recycled cellulosic textile waste like worn-out cotton clothes of the right composition, and production scraps that would otherwise be headed to landfill. In Altor’s words: “The process to produce Circulose pulp from 100% textile waste is unique and has the potential to make the textile and fashion industry circular and enable a shift to a low carbon economy.” This is something that did not go unnoticed by some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, with brands like H&M, Zara, Ganni, Levi’s, and PVH Corp all testing it out. 

The acquisition concludes a four-month-long search for a buyer that would be able to keep the recycling plant afloat, as well as meet creditor demands. Many in the fashion industry have been waiting with bated breath to learn about Renewcell’s fate – including The Interline – who previously wrote about how the recycler’s bankruptcy could widen the gap between fashion’s more-sustainable material targets and the reality of supply and demand.

But Renewcell’s hardship seems to have spurred the industry into action, serving as a wake up call for brands and manufacturers to take the plunge and invest more into textile-to-textile recycling with careful plans to scale. Two examples include Syre, a new polyester-recycling venture launched by H&M Group and Swedish investor Vargas that has raised over $100 million so far; as well as South Asia’s largest apparel and textile manufacturer, MAS, signing a three year offtake agreement for US materials science company Ambercycle‘s Cycora-branded recycled polyester. 

For this rebirth of recycled materials to make it out of its nascency, brands and manufacturers need to buy in, and so will consumers. The former will also need to strategise better – something that Circulose is attempting to do. The company is taking its time, until at least the end of 2024, to work on building a stable demand base for its production. And Ambercycle stated that its agreement with MAS is crucial for securing the necessary financing to begin construction on a commercial plant, slated to be operational by the end of 2025. The company has a $76 million purchase commitment from Zara-parent Inditex, and this kind of supply chain support from MAS enhances credibility that the material will have a market once production increases. For consumers, of course price point will always be a major factor when purchasing products. But if the quality is there, combined with the right sustainability messaging, there is a chance that they will buy even at a slightly elevated cost. The product, and this chance for sustainability, is worth it. 

PwC and OpenAI’s partnership pushes AI forward for fashion businesses

As the frenzy around AI has grown, many businesses, in fashion and beyond, have joined the scramble to incorporate the technology into their offerings and operations. And PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the “Big Four” global professional services firms, has now taken the lead amongst its peers. The firm recently inked an agreement with OpenAI to make them OpenAI’s first reseller for ChatGPT Enterprise, and the largest user of the product. 

PwC will provide ChatGPT Enterprise to its 75,000 U.S. employees and 26,000 UK employees, according to the Wall Street Journal. During the past year, PwC has dedicated efforts to training its workforce in AI application, developing proprietary AI tools for client use, and integrating AI into its consulting technology platform and operations. 

Collaborating with PwC is one of OpenAI’s first ventures into selling its technologies to enterprises, other than Microsoft, who is its primary backer. And if there was any doubt as to whether generative AI will be remembered as a fleeting part of the early 2020’s zeitgeist – this new deal has proven that we will see sustained usage of the technology. AI has now secured its place in the mainstream, with PwC being one of the biggest corporations in the world.

AI companies have now moved into the phase where demonstrating the real-world capabilities and advantages of generative AI will be essential going forward to gain credibility. PwC has already pinpointed over 3,000 internal generative AI use cases, emphasising the “limitless potential applications for clients across diverse sectors, such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, and more.” 

This “more” will soon include the fashion industry, especially given that GPT-4, OpenAI’s newest model, can interact with people by voice and better digest images and video. And while there is still a lot of apprehension around AI in fashion for creators, fashion business executives will no doubt be eager to use ChatGPT Enterprise – especially after it matures beyond this PwC partnership to other big businesses. It has the potential to build new solutions relevant for fashion, create new alliances with AI technology vendors for integration and interoperability, and optimise internal day-to-day operations when it comes to automation as well as idea generation. 

It may also mean that new brands, retailers, and manufacturers may find it easier than ever before to establish and grow their businesses due to ChatGPT Enterprise’s capabilities. This advanced AI tool can make various operations easier for small teams, from customer service and inventory management to marketing and sales strategy development. By automating repetitive tasks, providing insightful data analysis, and improving communication, ChatGPT Enterprise has the potential to allow these businesses to focus more on creativity and innovation. This will be dependent on its cost, of course. If affordable for smaller and newer companies, enabling them to compete with established players in a way that was not possible until now.

Best of The Interline: 

In partnership with CGS, The Interline talked to multi-pronged schoolwear business Charles Kirk about how the company’s expansion, business model evolution, and overall efficiency have been fuelled by ERP and B2B software.

We teamed up with Coats Digital to explore standardisation, and how speaking the same language could secure a better, more sustainable future for everyone. 

In her first exclusive for us, recent Masters graduate Benita Menezes presents a young professional’s perspective on how deeper adoption of tools and workflows that are still not common in-industry (and even less common in education) could create positive change directly and indirectly.

And we closed off this week with the latest instalment of The Interline’s Podcast: Talking new, blockchain-backed business models with Arianee.