Circular by design: Amsterdam companies actively working to close the loop in fashion

Atelier MADE HERE

MADE HERE is a circular textile atelier based in Amsterdam Noord that produces high-quality, made-to-order clothing and textile products for fashion and product brands. With a strong focus on sustainability and social impact, the organisation upcycles materials to extend their lifespan and avoids overproduction by only creating what is sold. At the same time, MADE HERE provides employment opportunities for people distanced from the Dutch labour market, working closely with partners like Pantar Amsterdam. 

Their solution: Designs and sells one-off, upcycled garments made from discarded textiles, available in-store and via collaborations.

Race Against Waste

Change starts with education. That is why there is a national education programme with active campaigns in Amsterdam schools and communities. Race Against Waste promotes awareness around textile waste, repair, and sustainable fashion choices. It creates and nurtures early engagement in circular textile practices among young Amsterdammers. The Textile Race is a four-week competition where schoolchildren collect and repair old textiles while learning about sustainable fashion and the impact of textile waste. Through community involvement and awareness campaigns, they help extend the life of garments and promote circular practices.

Their solution: Delivers educational campaigns and challenges in schools and communities, with no products sold.

By Rockland

An Amsterdam-based workwear company producing customised, sustainable uniforms made from recycled and organic materials. By Rockland offers a local, circular solution for corporate and hospitality uniforms, reducing textile waste and carbon emissions.

Their solution: Creates made-to-order workwear and corporate uniforms using recycled and organic fabrics, primarily B2B.

LENA Library

Amsterdam’s first fashion library, LENA Library, lets consumers borrow curated collections of sustainable and vintage fashion pieces through a membership-based system, encouraging wardrobe sharing and reducing textile waste. Members can borrow items for days or weeks, with options to swap or buy favourite pieces.

Their solution: A fashion library where consumers can borrow high-quality, sustainable fashion items instead of buying them.

MARTAN

A fashion label creating high-end collections from discarded hotel linens and institutional textile waste in Amsterdam. MARTAN turns waste materials into contemporary fashion pieces, giving a new life to forgotten fabrics and reducing industrial textile waste in the city.

Their solution: Designs and sells upcycled fashion collections made from discarded hotel linens, available via retail and online.

Avantium + University of Amsterdam (UvA)

A collaborative innovation project is developing technology to separate cotton and polyester in blended fabrics, a key challenge in textile recycling. The project, based in Amsterdam, enhances the city’s credentials as a hub for scientific and commercial circular textile solutions.

Their solution: A scalable, fibre-to-fibre recycling solution developed and piloted in the Dutch capital.

Makers Unite

From the founder of URC, Makers Unite combines creative upcycling, vocational training, and social inclusion, delivering both sustainable products and meaningful career paths for refugees, newcomers, and local creatives, all from their Amsterdam studio and community.

Their solution: Produces upcycled fashion and lifestyle products from discarded textiles while providing creative employment opportunities for refugees and newcomers

Droppie

Although Droppie doesn’t offer garments or repairs, it connects directly to tackling textile waste by providing Amsterdam residents with a convenient, app‑based drop‑off system that rewards them for depositing clean textiles (alongside other recyclables), ensuring high‑quality material streams for reuse or recycling rather than landfill. 

Their solution: Droppie delivers clean textile streams back into reuse or industrial recycling systems, helping reduce landfill and promote circular textiles.