COO (Chief Operations Officer)

Brightfiber Textiles is a green game changer for the unsustainable fashion industry. The Amsterdam-based company repurposes recycled clothing by processing it into new textile fibers to produce circular yarns and fabrics. The Chief Operations Officer will lead operations and focus on supply chain management and partnerships.

About Brightfiber Textiles

The fashion industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. Every year, one hundred billion new pieces of clothing are manufactured. And more than half of these are thrown away — just one year after production.

“Circular clothing is a popular phrase, but only one percent of all clothes are made from recycled materials – and that is mainly industrial waste. Meanwhile, increasing consumer textile waste is the real issue to solve. What’s more, the circumstances under which textile workers live and work are dire, sometimes deadly. Brightfiber Textiles is here to make a change.” – Ellen Mensink, Founder and CEO of Brightfiber Textiles

Ellen Mensink, Brightfiber Textiles’ founder, first launched her sustainable textile entrepreneurship Brightloops in 2016. The fully circular clothing brand aims to create a global movement of changemakers in circular fashion.

Recently, Mensink founded Brightfiber Textiles as a separate company designed to work closely with Brightloops. The  Brightfiber Textiles vision is to create a measurable, positive impact by producing valuable feedstock from local waste and helping more fashion companies make circular products. Brightfiber Textiles supplies to Brightloops as well as partner brands and textile producers that focus on sustainability. Around twenty stores in The Netherlands currently sell clothing made from Brightfiber Textiles’ material.

The process of fiberizing textiles to turn them into usable, high-quality yarns starts with collecting local used clothes. Then a sorting machine divides them based on color and composition. And a cleaning machine removes zippers, buttons, labels and other attachments. Next, blends high value fibers with sustainable fibers and colors. These are processed into new yarns and fabrics under Brightfiber Textiles’ brand.

Brightfiber Textiles works with partners to collect used clothing to help achieve several steps of its process. Using their unique fiberizing machine , Brightfiber Textiles will launch a fully circular factory in Amsterdam in 2023. It will have the capacity to produce up to three million kilos of usable raw materials from recycled textile per year. To achieve this, the company has secured an investment of more than one million euros from the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The factory will be used as a production facility, as well as an innovation lab, and proof of concept. Brightfiber Textiles will create a closed textile production loop that can be rolled out internationally at a later stage, and transform the fashion industry.

Vacancy: Chief Operations Officer  

The team at Brightfiber Textiles is still small: in addition to the founder, there are three FTEs. They focus on sales, technology and hardware, and running the factory operations. The Chief Operations Officer (COO) will act as a right hand to the founder. They will optimize the supply chain, as well as manage commercial, strategic, IT processes, and finance-related responsibilities.

The COO’s main focus is on supply chain optimization and expansion. They will bring an existing network, or build new relationships in the industry. This will allow the company to secure partnerships and deals to ensure a cost-effective influx of material. Partners may include non-profit organizations as well as textile brands and manufacturers who supply unsold items or collect used pieces from consumers. Implementing quality supply chain operations will support Brightfiber Textiles and anchor itself as a trusted producer of raw materials with a solid annual output.

As Brightfiber Textiles is still in its startup phase, the nature of this role is both strategic and hands-on. The COO will be a sparring partner to the CEO and founder. And they will work on a daily basis to implement ideas, close deals, manage processes, and get things done.

“The COO will help me set a long-term vision for the company, based on solid industry insights and entrepreneurial ideation. They need to balance setting a strategic direction based on this vision, and keep an eye on the day-to-day operations and our aim to reach break-even as soon as possible.” – Ellen Mensink, Founder and CEO of Brightfiber Textiles

This role is ideal for someone with solid operations- or supply chain experience, and is passionate about Brightfiber Textiles’ sustainability mission. They have the potential to make a significant impact. This role should be creative and be able to think in a structured manner. In addition, this role requires solid analytical and communication skills, and the ability to build and use a network. They are very  energetic and excited to help Brightfiber Textiles achieve its ambitions to transform the textile industry for good.

Interested?

Brightfiber Textiles is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Vivian Linker at vivian.linker@topofminds.com .