Béatrice Moureaux has been appointed chief executive of ReHubs, the European textile-to-textile recycling alliance, succeeding Robert van de Kerkhof, who moves to chairman of the Board. Her appointment takes effect immediately; she had served as a Board Advisor since December 2025.

What does the leadership change signal for members?

Moureaux brings more than 25 years of experience in technical textiles, advanced fibres, nonwovens, and circular innovation. The alliance framed the move as a transition from interim leadership to permanent execution of the strategy laid out in its "Breaking the Supply-Demand Deadlock" action plan, jointly developed with Boston Consulting Group.

Under van de Kerkhof's interim tenure, ReHubs expanded its engagement across the European textile sector and elevated investment and scale to board-level priorities. The leadership reset lands as brands press for higher volumes of recycled fibres while recycling projects stall on commercial viability.

Why is the supply-demand deadlock the central issue?

The alliance identifies a two-sided market failure: brands want greater recycled-fibre volumes but face limited and sometimes unreliable supply, while recyclers cannot commit capital to new lines without offtake commitments. Recycling technology is advancing and EU rules on textile waste are tightening, yet demand-side hesitation has kept fibre offtake below the threshold needed to underwrite new capacity.

Moureaux said: "I'm proud to take on the role of CEO at such an important moment for ReHubs and our industry. The road ahead will be challenging, and breaking the supply-demand deadlock to scale textile-to-textile recycling in Europe will require an openness to collaboration across the value chain and the right conditions for investment."

She added: "ReHubs has a strong community of organisations committed to making this transition happen, and I look forward to continuing to work with and support our members as we take this next step together."

What is the 2035 infrastructure target?

ReHubs has set a goal of building industrial-scale recycling infrastructure in Europe by 2035. The alliance has not disclosed a tonnage figure tied to that horizon. The "Breaking the Supply-Demand Deadlock" plan calls for enhanced collaboration across the textile value chain and for the economic conditions that make new sorting and recycling lines bankable.

The framework leans on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes as the policy lever capable of converting circularity commitments into funded collection and recycling volumes. Refashion, the French EPR eco-organisation, is represented on the ReHubs board and is expected to feed operational lessons from the French scheme into the alliance's wider European agenda.

How do EPR and capital sit in the same room?

Co-chair Véronique Allaire Spitzer, who represents Refashion on the ReHubs board, framed the next phase as a translation exercise between EU policy and operating practice.

"Europe is at a turning point for textile circularity. EPR is a powerful lever to translate ambition into action, but its success depends on practical solutions and close collaboration across the value chain. ReHubs can play this role at European level. Béatrice knows the organisation and its members well, and I am delighted to see her lead ReHubs into its next chapter," Allaire Spitzer said.

What it means for sourcing teams

• Capacity timeline: Any brand sourcing recycled fibres from European projects will now track ReHubs' 2035 infrastructure roadmap against its own recycled-content commitments rather than spot-market availability.
• EPR exposure: As EPR schemes operationalise across member states, eco-modulation fees will start to price in recycled-fibre use, making the supply-demand balance a working-capital question for sourcing teams.
• Vendor due diligence: ReHubs' member network functions as a vetted supplier base for technical textiles and nonwoven recycling partners, with member status serving as a lightweight filter on capability and compliance.

The next test for Moureaux will be whether ReHubs can convert its action plan into binding offtake commitments and matched recycling investment before the next EPR fee-setting cycle across Europe's largest apparel markets.