Driving circular textiles in Northern Netherlands

The University of Groningen (UG) is a key partner in the newly launched SORTED project, a €30 million initiative to build a fully circular textile chain in Northern Netherlands. Funded by the European Just Transition Fund (JTF) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the project brings together 14 partners from industry, education, and research to transform textile recycling through innovation, technology, and behavioral change.

ENTEG's leadership in technology and sustainability
UG’s contribution, totaling approximately €4.7 million (€2.35M in subsidies and €2.35M in-kind), underscores its role as a fifth-generation university: addressing societal challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration and regional engagement. Researchers from the Faculty of Science and Engineering (Engineering and Technology institute Groningen (ENTEG)) and the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) are leading critical work packages:

- Automated Textile Sorting: Led by Mauricio Muñoz-Arias, this programme focuses on developing an AI-driven robotic sorting cell to identify and sort textiles at the fiber level. The team will deploy two PhD researchers and two Engineering Doctorate (EngD) candidates, supported by an additional investment in robotics and sensor infrastructure. This technology will serve as a shared innovation platform for the consortium, bridging lab research with real-world industrial applications.

- Chemical Recycling: Under Gert-Jan Euverink, researchers will investigate advanced recycling pathways for cotton and polyester, ensuring sorted textiles can be sustainably reprocessed into new fibers. One PhD researcher will focus on process-material interactions and integration into the textile value chain.

Interdisciplinary impact and regional collaboration
UG’s involvement extends beyond technology. FEB researchers lead work on consumer behavior and circular business models, ensuring that technological advancements align with market adoption and sustainable entrepreneurship. The project exemplifies UG’s commitment to interdisciplinary solutions and regional ecosystem collaboration, working alongside MBO, HBO, and industry partners to drive systemic change.

“Our goal is to create the technological backbone of textile recycling — turning what is now a very manual, low-efficiency process into an automated, high-value one " sais Muñoz-Arias. "This includes working with our industrial partners, such as Demcon and Sympany, to ensure that what we develop in the lab actually works in real sorting lines .”

A step toward a circular future
SORTED is more than a research project—it’s a catalyst for economic and environmental transformation in Northern Netherlands. By integrating cutting-edge technology with consumer insights and business innovation, the consortium aims to create a closed-loop textile chain, reducing waste and fostering sustainable growth.