This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media.

If you decline, your information won’t be tracked when you visit this website. A single cookie will be used in your browser to remember your preference not to be tracked.

Monique Maissan

Board Member

member-photo

Monique Maissan is a Dutch entrepreneur and textile engineer specialised in sustainable solutions for the industry. As CEO and founder of “Waste2Wear”, she leads a committed team in creating products from recycled plastic bottles (rPET) since 2007, making them a true pioneer in the industry. In 2018, she introduced ocean fabrics in collaboration with local NGOs to target highly congested coastal areas to collect post-consumer, pre-ocean plastic to create new ocean yarns, fabrics, garments and other products. Monique was instrumental in developing the world’s first post-consumer recycled polypropylene products made from discarded domestic appliances such as fridges and washing machines, and the creation of the first blockchain technology in the recycling industry to ensure transparency and full traceability of the complete supply chain. In 2021 she introduced the world-first, fully certified testing method to verify rPET content in fabrics, (RA-3) to prove if something is really made from recycled plastic bottles and to what percentage.

Monique collaborates with a variety of stakeholders to help create awareness and to find solutions to protect the environment. This includes collaborations with the Jane Goodall Institute, National Geographic and others. Monique is a sought-after speaker on conferences and universities about circularity, and received various awards for her work over the years. Her awards and keynote speaking events include: European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Sustainable Business Award 2021 for Recycling Assurance Chemical Test (RA-3) identifying rPET content in goods; European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Sustainable Business Award 2020 for The World First post-consumer recycled polypropylene (RPP) bags; The Personality of the Year award from the Benelux Chamber of Commerce 2019; The #1 Business Women Of Excellence award in Egypt in 2018; The Women Economic Forum’s Outstanding Women for the Advance of Sustainability award in 2017; The Sustainable. Business Award from the European Economic and Sustainability Committee in 2014; The Entrepreneur the Year award 2012 in the USA from Enterprising Women; keynote speaker at “China’s World Creative Economy Summit in 2017; keynote at the EWC Sustainability Summit at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2016; and keynote at the 2015 EXCELerate Conference in Canada and virtual conference in 2021.