Leigh Fibers

What Leigh Fibers does

Leigh Fibers is a privately held, family-owned (since 1922) textile waste processor headquartered in Wellford/Spartanburg, South Carolina, recognized as North America's largest processor of post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste. The company purchases approximately 300 million pounds of textile waste annually from a global supplier network spanning 25 countries, then reprocesses it into more than 150 grades of recycled natural, synthetic, and technical fibers at facilities totaling over one million square feet, including a second manufacturing site in Brownsville, Texas. Its core product portfolio consists of in-stock reprocessed fibers, two proprietary brands — SafeLeigh® (fire-retardant fibers from aramids and treated recycled cotton/synthetics) and QuietLeigh® (acoustic insulation, positioned as an automotive industry standard) — and Leigh Technical Specialties covering recycled m-Aramid, P-Aramid, P-Aramid/PBI blends, and carbon fibers.

The company serves a horizontally diversified set of B2B industrial customers across automotive, bedding, furniture, apparel, filtration, acoustic insulation, spinning, caskets, and sporting equipment, with named enterprise logos including Delta, Fruit of the Loom, and Gildan. Leigh generates revenue through one-time sales of recycled fiber products, transaction-based textile waste trading (both domestic and international across 25 countries), and professional-services revenue from closed-loop recycling programs that let manufacturers re-process their own scrap into made-to-order fiber. Sales are conducted via a direct enterprise field-sales model with dedicated account management, consultation-led quote-based pricing, and engineering support spanning situational analysis, testing, production scale-up, and inventory management.

The business is led by President and CEO Daniel Mason and a recently hired VP of Sales (John Peoples) tasked with growth and diversification. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified, active in industry associations (ISPA, National Cotton Council, American Cotton Linter Association), and is building an apparel closed-loop ecosystem in partnership with Smartwool, Industrial Commons, and Material Return. Leigh operates a vertically integrated model from waste procurement through reprocessing, R&D, quality control, and warehousing, and reports cumulative diversion of 15 billion pounds of textile waste from landfills over its 100+ year history.

Name

Leigh Fibers

Legal name

Leigh Fibers Inc.

Website

https://leighfibers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Leigh Fibers is a 100-year-old, family-owned, North America's largest textile waste processor, converting 300 million pounds annually of post-consumer and post-industrial waste into 150+ grades of recycled and specialty fibers for B2B customers in automotive, bedding, furniture, apparel, and filtration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Recycled Fiber Products Sales: Sale of engineered recycled fiber products including in-stock fibers, custom fiber blends, branded fibers (SafeLeigh®, QuietLeigh®), and technical/specialty fibers. Revenue generated through direct B2B sales to manufacturers across multiple industries including automotive, bedding, furniture, filtration, and apparel.
2. Textile Waste Trading: Purchase and sale of textile waste materials and by-products. The company purchases approximately 300 million pounds of textile waste annually from diverse suppliers and processes it into usable fiber products for sale.
3. Closed-Loop Solutions Services: Engineering and implementing closed-loop solutions for manufacturers to recycle their own textile scrap into high-quality fiber. Creates additional revenue-generating products for customers while reducing their waste disposal costs.
4. International Trading Services: Global trading operations buying and selling textile waste and reprocessed fibers across 25 countries. Provides competitive pricing, shipping, and availability through extensive international network.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Leigh Fibers purchases approximately 300 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste annually and reprocesses it into high-quality recycled fibers for industrial use. The company sells in-stock reprocessed fibers (150+ grades), proprietary branded fibers (SafeLeigh® fire-retardant and QuietLeigh® acoustic insulation), technical/specialty fibers (aramids, carbon), custom fiber blends, and closed-loop recycling services to manufacturers across automotive, bedding, furniture, apparel, filtration, and acoustic insulation industries.

Product overview

Leigh Fibers is North America's largest textile waste processor offering a comprehensive portfolio of recycled fiber solutions. The core offering consists of In-Stock Fibers (150+ grades of reprocessed natural and synthetic fibers), Leigh Branded Fibers (SafeLeigh® fire retardant fibers and QuietLeigh® acoustic insulation), and Leigh Technical Specialties (advanced aramid and carbon fibers). Supporting services include Custom Fiber Solutions (engineering and testing), Closed-Loop Solutions (for manufacturers to recycle their own textile scrap), and Domestic & International Trading. The company processes approximately 300 million pounds of textile waste annually, converting post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste into high-quality fiber for diverse industries including automotive, bedding, furniture, apparel, filtration, acoustic insulation, caskets, and sporting equipment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SafeLeigh®: Fire retardant fibers made from para- and meta-aramids, intrinsically fire-retardant fibers, and treated recycled cottons and synthetics. Applications include needle punching, barrier fabrics and coarse yarn spinning.
• QuietLeigh®

Products and services

• In-Stock Fibers Over 150 grades of reprocessed textile waste and by-products including natural fibers, synthetic fibers (nylon, acrylic, polypropylene, acetate, rayon viscose, polyester), textile by-products (thread waste, tow waste, filament, non-wovens, cotton sweeps), and reprocessed fibers (airlay, garnetting, blowing products, denim). Sold to industrial manufacturers across multiple sectors.
• SafeLeigh® Proprietary fire-retardant fiber brand made from para- and meta-aramids, intrinsically fire-retardant fibers, and treated recycled cottons and synthetics. Used in needle punching, barrier fabrics, and coarse yarn spinning applications.
• QuietLeigh® Proprietary acoustic insulation fiber brand engineered using proprietary fiber blends. Has become an automotive industry standard for acoustical padding, helping OEM partners meet flame retardancy and sound deadening standards.
• Leigh Technical Specialties Technical and specialty fibers including recycled m-Aramid, P-Aramid, P-Aramid/PBI blends, and carbon fibers. Processes convert para-aramids in both filament and fabric forms into usable fibers for carding/spinning, composite, pulp, and wet laid applications.
• Custom Fiber Solutions Custom fiber solutions developed through situational analysis, engineering and testing, production scale-up, and inventory maintenance. Develops blends with specific fiber content, fiber length, and color requirements to meet customer specifications.
• Closed-Loop Solutions Recycling solutions enabling manufacturers to convert their own textile scrap into high-quality fiber, reducing waste disposal costs, generating additional revenue, and ensuring continuous supply of made-to-order fiber.
• Domestic & International Trading Global textile waste trading services built on decades of supplier relationships. Stocks and sources items including soft thread, slasher, card waste, comber cone yarn, polypropylene, nylon, and rayon across 25 countries.
• Nonwovens Collaborative engineering of high-performance nonwoven solutions with in-house experts to meet customer specifications across various industrial applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 billion pounds of textile waste diverted from landfills over 100+ years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments11 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SmartwoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircular sustainability partnership focused on repurposing sock and mill waste into yarn used to make more socks. Building a value chain transformative for the industry and communities across the US.
• Industrial CommonscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircular sustainability partnership building a value chain that will be transformative for the industry and communities across the US.
• Material ReturncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircular sustainability partnership contributing to the development of sustainable solutions in the textile industry.
• Catawba Valley ReclamationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturing partnership featured in Manufacturing In Focus publication. Collaboration in textile reclamation and recycling operations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Worn Again Technologies: UK-based chemical recycler of polyester and cotton textiles into new raw materials. Represents the emerging chemical-recycling threat to mechanical recyclers like Leigh, though currently at pre-commercial scale.
• Recover Brands / Recover Textile Systems: Spanish recycled cotton fiber producer using mechanical and chemical-mechanical processes. Comparable as a recycled fiber manufacturer focused on apparel circularity, though smaller in scale and more narrowly focused on cotton than Leigh.
• Circulose (Renewcell): Swedish producer of Circulose dissolving pulp from recycled cotton textiles for viscose/lyocell applications. Emerging player in fiber-to-fiber chemical recycling targeting the same fashion brand customers Leigh serves.

Direct peers

• Re&Up (Marchi & Fildi Group): Italy-headquartered producer of recycled and regenerated fibers (cotton, wool, synthetic blends) from textile waste for apparel and technical applications. A direct peer in mechanical and chemical-mechanical fiber recycling with comparable customer base in fashion.
• Unifi (Repreve): Unifi manufactures Repreve recycled polyester and other recycled/synthetic fibers from textile and bottle waste. Most directly comparable to Leigh as a recycled fiber producer selling into apparel, automotive, and industrial end markets, though focused primarily on polyester feedstock.
• Martex Fiber: U.S.-based textile waste processor and recycled fiber producer. Operates in the same mechanical fiber recycling space as Leigh, purchasing post-industrial and post-consumer textile waste and producing shoddy and recycled fibers for downstream manufacturers.
• Aquafil: Italian-based producer of Econyl regenerated nylon from post-consumer and post-industrial waste (including carpets and fishing nets). Directly comparable as a recycled/regenerated fiber manufacturer with branded sustainability positioning and a similar fiber-to-fiber recycling value proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Birla Cellulose (Aditya Birla Group): One of the world's largest man-made cellulosic fiber producers with a sustainability line (Liva Reviva) using recycled feedstock. A broad incumbent in fiber manufacturing that has expanded into recycled fiber, competing for similar sustainability-focused customers.
• Teijin Frontier: Japanese fiber producer with polyester recycling operations and circular product lines. Comparable to Leigh in addressing recycled fiber demand, though operating as part of a much larger diversified materials conglomerate.
• Lenzing: Global cellulosic fiber producer with a growing recycled-content portfolio (e.g., Tencel with recycled fibers). Comparable as a fiber manufacturer addressing sustainability, but operates at much larger scale and broader product breadth than Leigh.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leigh-fibers

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leigh Fibers