Metsä Spring has appointed Anna-Kaisa Huttunen as Director of Business Development, effective June 11, to support the market entry of its Kuura textile fibre innovation.
Huttunen will lead business and market planning efforts for Kuura, a wood-based fibre developed by Metsä Group that aims to offer a sustainable alternative for the global textile industry.
A graduate of the University of Art and Design (now Aalto University), Huttunen brings over 25 years of international experience in the textile sector. Her career began in the 1990s with early success in design competitions and a role with French clothing brand Lacoste in Paris. She has since worked in France, Austria, the Middle East, and China across various segments of the textile industry, including fashion, workwear, technical textiles, and wearable technology.
Since returning to Finland in 2007, Huttunen has shifted her focus to international business development, particularly in textile rental services and fibre recycling. Most recently, she worked at a company specializing in textile fibre recycling, deepening her expertise in circular solutions.
“The entire global value chain of textile production—from fibre to clothing and back to fibre through recycling—has become familiar to me during my career. It’s great to get to be a part of the Kuura story,” she said.
Huttunen emphasized that while the textile industry is vast—employing over a million people in the EU and 60 million in Asia—it also faces significant challenges, particularly regarding sustainability and ethical production. “The need to produce as much and as cheaply as possible has pushed the industry in an increasingly unethical direction,” she noted.
She sees Kuura as a valuable innovation amid these challenges. “Kuura’s strengths lie in product quality, energy-efficient production, and strong environmental values. It is motivating to help commercialize a solution that can genuinely benefit the industry.”
Metsä Spring is Metsä Group’s innovation company, focused on developing and investing in new, sustainable business opportunities in the forest industry. Founded in 2018, Metsä Spring supports innovations that add value to Nordic wood and promote circular economy solutions, including the Kuura textile fibre project. By combining Metsä Group’s industry expertise with forward-looking technologies, Metsä Spring aims to drive the transition toward more sustainable materials and products.
