Textile Waste, A Time-Ticking Bomb
In the past 15 years, textile and fashion production has roughly doubled. However, the average time clothing is worn has decreased by about 40%, indicating a trend towards faster fashion cycles and increased consumption. This surge in production coupled with decreased wear time contributes to significant environmental problems, including textile waste and resource depletion. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019)
This is precisely where The New Factory (TNF) steps in.
Founded in Bandung, The New Factory is more than just a recycling facility—it is a worker-owned Fashion Circularity Lab committed to transforming the textile industry from the ground up. With a bold mission to reduce textile waste and promote a regenerative model for fashion, TNF serves as a real-life prototype of what circular, fair, and inclusive fashion can look like in Indonesia.
What Makes TNF Stand Out?
As a proud member of Rantai Tekstil Lestari (RTL), TNF embodies our shared vision: to create a sustainable textile ecosystem that leaves no one behind. By centering workers in the ownership structure, TNF not only supports sustainable material flows but also advances social justice through economic inclusion.
Worker-Owned Model
TNF is collectively owned by its workers, ensuring that those closest to production also shape its direction and reap its benefits. This model strengthens local resilience and empowers garment workers—often marginalized in the mainstream fashion supply chain.
Circularity in Practice
TNF focuses on reusing post-consumer garments, recycling textile waste, and upskilling communities through repair, remanufacturing, and repurposing. It’s a living lab for experimentation in circular fashion strategies—from take-back schemes to remade collections.
Education & Advocacy
Beyond production, TNF also serves as a platform for knowledge-sharing, hosting workshops and dialogues to promote awareness about sustainable fashion and circular economy principles.
Learn More
and Connect
If you’re curious about how The New Factory is reshaping the future of textiles, we invite you to explore their journey and get involved through their website
As a co-op, TNF is part of a larger movement for economic democracy. TNF is calling for an end to sweatshops and social and economic inequality within the sector at home, globally and beyond.
