Full Agenda

4 November 2026:

5 November 2026:

Day 1

4 November 2026:

9:00 Breakfast & Networking

9:30

Welcome: From Circularity Ambition to Scalable Action

Opening remarks to introduce the summit’s central question: how can the industry make textile circularity safe, credible and scalable by understanding and managing the chemistry behind materials, processes and recycling pathways?

Frank Michel

CEO, ZDHC

9:45

ZDHC’s Role in Scaling Safe Circular Systems

This session introduces ZDHC’s Circularity Strategy and how the ZDHC Programme can enable safe, credible and scalable circular systems.

Smita Prasad Bait

Senior Technical Manager - Circularity & Fibres, ZDHC

10:00

Designing Safe Circularity

Kate Goldsworthy

ZDHC Board Director

10:20

Why Chemistry Decides What Can Be Reused

A focused session on how safer chemical management supports circular production, from responsible input chemistry to wastewater quality, water reuse and the prevention of hazardous substances re-entering recycled material streams.

Marina Chahboune

Founder & CEO, Closed Loop Fashion

Break 10:50 - 11:20

11:20

Material Reality Check: What Feedstock Tells Us Before Recycling Starts

This session examines the chemical reality of textile feedstock, including dyes, finishes, coatings, blends, contaminants and unknown substances that can affect sorting, processing, safety and the quality of recycled outputs.

Moderator: Smita Prasad Bait

Senior Technical Manager - Circularity & Fibres, ZDHC

Silvia Lai

Global Technical Leader, UL Solutions

Ola Bakowska

Textiles Programme Lead, Circle Economy

Marina Chahboune

Founder & CEO, Closed Loop Fashion

11:50

Pre-Processing: The Hidden Step That Makes or Breaks Recycling

Ditte Højland

CEO & Founder, Dissolva

12:10

Choosing the Right Recycling Pathway: Mechanical, Chemical and the Future Mix

A practical comparison of recycling pathways through a chemistry lens, exploring where mechanical and chemical recycling can succeed, where they face limitations, and what chemical information is needed to select the right route.

Moderator: Brigitta Danka

Chief Product Officer, Around Systems

Eric Schwaninger

Chief Commercial Officer, DePoly

Giuseppe Picerno

Head of Innovation and Sustainability, Manteco SPA

Louisa Esposito

Business Development Manager, Jiaren Chemical Recycling

Lunch 12:40 - 14:00

14:00

Building the Circularity Ecosystem: How Like-Minded Organisations Are Driving Action

This session explores how different organisations are working on circularity and where ZDHC’s chemistry-focused role fits.

The objective is not to present everyone’s work in isolation, but to answer: How do existing initiatives connect, where are the gaps, and how can the industry avoid fragmented circularity efforts?

Moderator: Maria Arroyo i Bacete

Sector Partnership Lead, ZDHC

Sophie Ridler

Recycled Engagement Manager, Textile Exchange

Catherine Stewart

Senior Corporate Campaigner, Canopy

Tina Lemke

Brand Manager, OnceMore® and Enriched by Södra

14:40

Data as the Passport to Circular Products

This session explores why chemical information must become part of traceability and product data systems, and how better chemical data can support sorting, recycling decisions, compliance, transparency and trust in recycled materials.

Nienke Steen

Director Consumer Products & Textiles, Cradle to Cradle

Dan Greenway

Head of Business, Clothing Connected

Tim Cross

CEO and Founder, Circular Textiles Foundation

Julian Schenten

Senior Law and Policy Advisor, EU Chemicals, ClientEarth

Break 15:20 - 16:00

16:00

Circularity 2040: Regulation, Risk and the Cost of Doing Nothing

A forward-looking discussion on how regulation may reshape textile design, chemical restrictions, recycled-content requirements, product passports and circular business models and what this means for the future of fashion and textiles.

Philipp Meister

Managing Director, Global Fashion, Sporting Goods & Chemical Sector Lead, Quantis

Katarina Biloglav

Public Affairs Manager, Policy Hub

Jelica Ramirez

Business Development Manager, Stiftung GRS

Marta Lima

Corporate Sustainability Officer, Vieira de Almeida (VdA)

16:30

Solutions Ready for Adoption

Host: Carla Chidichimo

Founder, Materia Sustainable Agency

Louise Anderson

Chief Technology Officer, Amphico

Begoña García

EIM Director, Jeanologia S.L

Belén Bonifaz

Innovation Manager, Fashion for Good

Sarah West Young

Head of Growth, Modern Synthesis

17:00

Closing Reflections: What Needs to Happen Next

Key takeaways from the day, with a focus on what needs to happen next across standards, collaboration, data, infrastructure and policy.

Prasad Pant

Chief Technical & Education Officer, ZDHC

Drinks 17:15 - 19:30

Day 2

5 November 2026:

9:00 Breakfast & Networking

10:00

Welcome: From Chemistry Insight to Investment Action

A short opening to connect Day 1 insights with Day 2’s focus: how chemical knowledge, risk visibility and collaboration can move circularity from technical ambition to investable action.

Frank Michel

CEO, ZDHC

10:15

Why Circularity Investment Starts with Understanding Risk

Why circularity cannot be financed properly unless technical, chemical and operational risks are understood first.

Dina Rato

Invited Professor, Católica-Lisbon SBE Executive Education

10:35

From Legacy to Loop

This session explores practical approaches to managing legacy chemical risks in textile-to-textile recycling, from better design and chemical information to risk-based screening and sorting for safer circularity.