Swedish circular technology company Cyclothe announced on October 12, 2026, the appointment of Calvin Woolley, former Textile Sustainability Business Manager at Inter IKEA, as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Company founder Halit Kosmaz stated that this appointment marks Cyclothe's transition from the infrastructure-building phase to the industrial commercial deployment phase. Woolley has over 25 years of international leadership experience in the textile industry, including 15 years at Inter IKEA, where he was responsible for driving global textile sustainability and circular programs.

Key Points

  • Calvin Woolley brings 15 years of experience in global textile sustainability and circular programs at Inter IKEA and over 25 years of industry experience; he now serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Cyclothe.
  • Cyclothe positions itself as a traceable resource loop integrating citizens, retailers, municipalities, EPR systems, and secondary markets. Its technology covers smart drop-off points, AI recognition, and data-driven sorting logistics, prioritizing reuse, repair, and remanufacturing before recycling.
  • In the next phase, the company will accelerate the rollout of smart collection networks and AI sorting architecture across the Nordics and Europe, while expanding partnership channels for certified reuse, resale, and high-grade textile recycling.

Experience and Perspective

Headquartered in Sweden, Cyclothe describes itself as a "circular resource infrastructure" technology company. Starting with textiles, it provides physical and digital infrastructure connecting citizens, municipalities, brands, logistics providers, and circular markets. The company emphasizes that its model is not an isolated recycling or waste management provider, but an integrated system covering smart collection hubs, automated recognition, and AI decision engines.

In his joining statement, Woolley said the textile industry does not lack circular ambition—what it lacks is infrastructure that works. He believes the industry needs an infrastructure layer that can address new regulations in a commercially viable way and genuinely build quantifiable, high-value reverse logistics at scale, and that Cyclothe is attempting to connect people, products, cities, brands, and recyclers through an interconnected smart system.

He added that he joined not only as CEO but also as Co-Founder because he believes this path can turn the industry's long-standing intentions into reality, and he is willing to work with founder Halit and partners to drive scale-up.

Next Steps

According to the announced plan, Cyclothe will next accelerate the deployment of smart collection networks and AI sorting architecture in the Nordics and multiple European countries, and establish traceable downstream commercial channels around certified reuse, resale, and high-grade textile recycling, so that second-hand materials can achieve higher economic and material value at the back end. This expansion direction echoes the tightening textile EPR and circular regulatory requirements across the EU, and also reflects that circular infrastructure is moving from conceptual pilots to commercial implementation.

Board / Compiled by: Global Used Clothing Trade News

Source: Calvin Woolley, Formerly Responsible For Global Textile Sustainability At IKEA, Has Joined Cyclothe As Our Co-Founder & CEO · Originally published 2026-10-12