Curitas Textielinzameling’s Post

A big shout out and heartfelt thank you to the team at Bureau of International Recycling in particular Alan Wheeler, Martin Böschen, Arnaud Brunet and Susie Burrage OBE for organizing the first and hopefully not last International Textile Recycling Conference in Brussels adressing our #circularitychallenge. We are part of a global textile industry whether it is about 2nd hand markets to optimize reuse or about recycled materials needing to find their way to manufacturing countries...and we need the EU legislation to support this. Yesterday, people like Teresiah Wairimu of MCAK Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya and Marlvin Owusu of Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association finally got a podium to explain how important trade in 2nd hand textiles is for their people and their economy. Invalidating the false allegations that waste is imported with real data. Next to seeing the great turnout with many familiar and new faces, the conference gave us the chance to express the importance but also the tardiness of #EPR and #EcodesignforSustainableProductsRegulation. These are the very elements that will create a business model for recycling. But we are running out of time! The European system creating value through reuse of 2nd hand textiles is about to collapse. It is this very value which finances recycling and without it there will be none. We need immediate financial support to collect and sort textiles in Europe and to bridge the time needed for a recycling business case. To (some of) those who where there or those who need to listen Stichting UPV Textiel Marije Slump Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat Michelle Wilson Maud HARDY Véronique A. Julia Ettinger (Blees) Philippe Doliger Jennifer Wang Kaj Pihl Karina Bolin Cyndi Rhoades Chris Deloof Robert van de Kerkhof Rudrajeet Pal Anna Pehrsson Harsha Vardhan Sini Ilmonen Edith van Heijningen Wilma van Hunnik