Textiles Recycling Expo 2026 confirms first speakers, spotlights fibre regeneration demos

Textiles Recycling Expo has revealed the first wave of confirmed speakers for its Brussels conference programme, naming Lars Fogh Mortensen of the European Environment Agency and saying the selection was curated with structural partner ReHubs. Exhibition Manager Zied Chetoui announced the update and said, “We’re delighted to reveal the first speakers joining our 2026 programme,” as organisers confirmed the event will return to Brussels Expo on 24–25 June 2026 with free registration now open.

The late-February programme update highlights several concrete features attendees can expect: the return of the Industry Alliance Hub, live demonstrations of sorting and fibre-regeneration technology, expanded networking opportunities, and what the expo calls 150+ exhibitors showcasing cutting-edge recycling technologies and systems. Amiplastics has noted that the Industry Alliance Hub will feature UKFT, signalling a UK industry presence within the Brussels hub.

The Textiles Recycling Awards will make their debut at the 2026 expo, a development announced in a 7 November 2025 press release that described the awards as recognising excellence in circular innovation. That launch sits alongside a steady cadence of partner announcements: ReHubs and AMI reunited to shape the conference in an October 27, 2025 release; EURATEX joined forces with the expo on 20 November 2025; a collaboration with Future Fabrics Expo was announced on 11 December 2025; and the National Stewardship Action Council’s collaboration with the US programme was publicised on 23 January 2026.

The Textiles Recycling Expo brand is running a separate but related US event at the Charlotte Convention Center on 29–30 April 2026, also free-to-attend. Etextilecommunications and Textile World list the first US speakers: Morgan Ginn of The Footwear Collective, Jessica Franken of SMART, Steven Bethell of Bank & Vogue Ltd/Ltée, David Eagles of Goodwill Industries International, Camille Diane Tagle of FABSCRAP, Eileen Mockus of Accelerating Circularity, Jimmy Summers of Elevate Textiles, Diane Woods of Reju, Adam Gardiner of Textile Exchange, and Rachel Van Metre K. of American Circular Textiles. Coverage notes these speakers will address textile waste collection, sorting and recycling technologies, sustainability strategies for fashion and manufacturing, circular-economy business models, and regulatory trends across a two-day programme.

Organisers have been rolling announcements since autumn 2025: free registration for the US event opened 23 October 2025 and for Brussels on 29 January 2026; the Textile Innovation Engine Showcase for the US was announced on 5 December 2025; and American Circular Textiles was named a founding partner for the US event on 24 October 2025. The late-February reveal positions Brussels as a practical convergence of policy, technology and trade bodies, with ReHubs-curated speakers and live fibre-regeneration demos framed as the technical heart of the show.

With Brussels Expo confirmed for 24–25 June 2026 and a promise of live sorting and fibre-regeneration demonstrations alongside the inaugural Textiles Recycling Awards and 150+ exhibitors, the event is shaping up as a working marketplace for circular textile solutions and industry partnerships. The organisers describe it as Europe’s leading event dedicated to textile recycling and say it will unite global leaders across the textile value chain to accelerate circular transformation.