SOLSTICE’s Post

The textile industry faces significant sustainability challenges, especially in reducing waste and promoting circularity. A key issue is the lack of infrastructure for Repair, Reuse, and Repurpose of textiles, which limits citizens' ability to engage in circular practices ♻️ In response, as a part of SOLSTICE Project, Circle Economy presents their analysis on the current circular textiles ecosystem of four European territories - Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, Berlin, Prato, and Catalonia - each bringing distinct characteristics and specializations that support a circular economy vision centered on the 5Rs: Reuse, Repair, Refuse/Reduce, Recycle, and Repurpose 🔄 Key insights include: 🔹Consumer behaviors regarding sustainability awareness and purchasing habits 🔹Region-specific strategies for integrating circular practices into local textile sectors 🔹Future assessment directions will focus on the social, environmental, and spatial impacts of circular textile initiatives. This foundational analysis sets the stage for developing targeted interventions that will guide SOLSTICE pilots, driving meaningful change within the textile sector. Read more about this analysis and the next steps ⬇ https://lnkd.in/dyAwCBjs

🚀 Pushing the boundaries of EPR policy for textiles: Key insights 🌍 Last Thursday I visited the textile waste collection and sorting facility of Stichting Sympany. It was not the first time I visited a place like this, but it's always a shock to be confronted by the amount of textiles we discard. So even though we're laughing at this photo, we maybe should have been crying, because seriously; it's such insanity that we consume so much and then simply waste it. It's been a year now that the EPR - extended producer responsibility - has been introduced for textiles in the Netherlands. I am quite impatient how it's been implemented thus far, so it helps to read this report by Ellen MacArthur Foundation on how EPR policies can address global textile waste and drive a circular economy. Here are the key takeaways from the report: 🔄 Common approach for global circular economy: The report proposes a unified approach to EPR policy design based on circular economy principles. National EPR systems need to align around common objectives while setting targets tailored to their unique contexts. 🌐 International alignment: To maximize the effectiveness of EPR, international alignment is crucial. This includes harmonized definitions and coordinated efforts to streamline reporting and compliance across borders. ♻️ Unlocking circular economy potential: EPR has the potential to transform traditional waste management into circular economy outcomes by incentivizing circular design, extending product life, and addressing pollution impacts. ⚡ Accelerating industry action: Businesses shouldn't wait for mandatory policies to take effect. Voluntary EPR schemes and coordinated industry actions are vital to challenging the linear economic model and capturing the full value of circular economy solutions. 📊 Investable opportunities: Mandatory EPR policies present significant investment opportunities. They can lead to long-term contracts for collectors, sorters, and recyclers, fostering stable supply chains and economies of scale. 🌱 Circular business models: Brands and retailers should design products in line with circular economy principles and adopt collaborative, multi-brand systems for repair, rental, remaking, and resale. 💡 Shared innovation and infrastructure: Investment in shared infrastructure for material recirculation and reverse logistics is essential. Collaboration across the industry can drive significant environmental savings and economic benefits. Let's work together towards a sustainable textile future! 🌟 #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #EPR #Textiles #Recycling #Environmentalimpact

Let's actively showcase sustainable textiles with our actions. TEXTILE house - Sorting & Recycling shines a light on circular textiles at the Circular Textile Days 2024. Textile House has been an industry pioneer for two decades, setting the standard for reusing #post-consumer #textiles in #sustainable products. With their global partnerships and a diverse team representing more than 20 nationalities, they tackle the biggest challenges in the textile waste industry. Why do you want to meet them? ☑️ Witness the transformation of textile waste into products and resources ☑️ Visualise the journey of a discarded textile until it is sorted for reuse or as a recycling resource ☑️ Learn how to maximise the potential for reuse and meet the standards of the EU Waste Directive. ☑️ Discover the reduction of landfill waste through the company's reuse and recycling processes/products. ☑️ Engage in partnerships to strengthen the company's impact and contribute to wider sustainability initiatives. Want to see the circular future in action? Visit Textile House and get inspiration for change. 📅 18 & 19 September 2024 📍 1931Congress Centre, ‘s-Hertogenbosch Hélio MOREIRA

Join us for the launch of Circular Australia’s latest reports on circular markets! We're marking the release with a free webinar on Monday 25 November, from 11:30am-1:00pm AEDT. With a circularity rate of around 4.1%, Australia’s journey to build a circular economy will require many system changes. There are significant barriers to industry in achieving circularity that are both economy-wide and value chain-specific. Building new circular markets will be essential and a rare opportunity for Australian industries to cut carbon, secure efficiencies and create greater value and productivity while regenerating natural systems.   Join Circular Australia in the launch of our latest report 'Circular Economy Markets' in partnership with Arup and circular leaders. We will share a path forward to unlock circularity for Australian industries examining five value chain case studies:   - Lithium-ion batteries for mobility. - Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for beverages. - Green steel for the built environment. - Low carbon concrete for the built environment. - Textiles for fashion, upholstery and other goods. 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/gxyhCzku #CircularEconomy #CircularMarkets #Industry #SupplyChain #Collaboration

Have you ever wondered what happens to your recycled items after they disappear into the recycling bin? I recently discovered the Green Point initiative in Barcelona, which takes recycling beyond the usual suspects of paper, plastic, and glass, to a more comprehensive list including electronics to textiles. But what happens to all this stuff next? Recycling is typically low hanging fruit when it comes to sustainability initiatives. Yet only about 63% of paper is recycled in Europe (eurostat), under 9% of plastics, and there is little circularity at the moment when it comes to textiles. Have a look at Katia Dayan Vladimirova's recent post about how wealthy cities are managing unwanted textiles. Yet, the true power of recycling lies in the design stage. By designing products with a circular mindset, we can create a system where materials are valued for longer, reused, and minimise waste and maximise resource efficiency. Interested in circular economy and systems thinking? Let’s connect! #circulareconomy #systemsthinking #designforsustainability Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash

TexCycle has announced its membership in the Circular Economy Coalition – CERC. With this initiative, a new stage begins in the company’s commitment to promote sustainability and innovation in the textile industry, but also to contribute substantially to the stimulation of the circular economy in Romania. “TexCycle’s CERC membership comes at a time when the entire textile sector is involved in the circular transformation of operations throughout the supply chain of materials, production, distribution, consumption, repair, reuse and valorization of the resulting waste. We also rely on the expertise of TexCycle in the working groups that implement the Action Plan of the National Strategy for the Circular Economy and consider that their circular business model is an example of good practices that must be scaled at national level, in order to give textile materials the value they deserve, by extending their lifespan, thus contributing to lower carbon emissions.” said Alex. Laibar – Executive Director of the Circular Economy Coalition - CERC – CERC. https://lnkd.in/dVPdUiR8

🌍 Does Separate Collection of Textile Waste from 2025 suggest Circularity? ♻️ This massive pile of clothing was erected in Prague, to symbolize the amount of textile waste 👕 👖 generated by an average family over their lifetime. It weighs a whopping four tons! I am seeking to uncover, ❔How the European textile waste industry, already under immense strain, would deal with more collected textiles without systemic improvements? 👘 ❓ Would the sorting facilities currently facing workforce shortages, rising costs 💰 , and low off-take demand, eventually benefit from higher demand for sorting? ⁉️ Or the separately collected textiles would be stockpiled, disposed or exported to countries without sufficient infrastructure? 🚢 Separate collection's success 🗝️ depends on parallel investments in the complete infrastructure: Reuse > Refurbishment > Recycling ♻️ It's a positive step, a beginning🚶 to the long journey 🏃➡️ of circularity. What’s your take on the Separate Collection of Textiles? 💬 #CircularEconomy #Textile #ReuseRecycle #Sustainability

As an advocate for sustainability, I am always seeking ways the fashion industry can become more environmentally conscious. This semester, I’m taking a Technical Garment Analysis course, and in a recent lesson, we discussed the critical role of building a circular economy. In my effort to deepen my understanding, I came across an insightful article by the United Nations Development Programme that I’d like to share with you. It delves into what a circular economy is and why it matters. Here are some key points I’d like to highlight: The circular economy shifts away from the traditional "take-make-waste" model towards a system that emphasizes reusing, repairing, and recycling materials. This helps extend the lifecycle of products and reduce waste. By keeping materials in use for longer, the circular economy decreases the demand for raw materials, thus lessening the environmental damage caused by mining and deforestation. A circular economy can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) through more efficient use of resources and energy. It plays a key role in fighting climate change by cutting down on energy-intensive production and waste disposal processes. Embracing a circular economy creates new business opportunities, jobs, and industries focused on sustainable practices such as remanufacturing, repairing, and recycling. Governments, industries, and international organizations are increasingly incorporating circular economy principles into their policies and frameworks, such as the EU Green Deal and climate action plans. I believe this article is highly relevant because it highlights the critical need for a circular economy to address some of the most pressing global issues—such as resource overuse, climate change, and waste management. The statistics presented emphasize the unsustainable consumption of natural resources, showing that we are on track to exceed the Earth's capacity if current patterns continue. If you would like to read the entire article, here is the link: https://lnkd.in/g5XS858P

Circularity isn’t just a trend—it’s essential to building a sustainable future. At Svensson, we’re committed to embedding circular principles into our textile processes. In collaboration with Indorama Ventures Fibers Germany GmbH, the owner of Trevira CS, we are pioneering ways to give textiles a new life. Our circular program focuses on Trevira CS polyester fibres, collecting and mechanically recycling materials that have reached the end of their lifecycle. This recycling process enables us to transform used fibres into new materials, reducing waste and conserving resources. For our customers, this means access to materials that actively support the circular economy. We believe every step towards circularity matters, and we’re proud to be part of a textile industry moving in the right direction for future generations. Read more about what we do in our latest sustainability report here: https://lnkd.in/dVcCWqTB #Circularity #TreviraCS #SustainableTextiles #SvenssonInteriorTextiles #EcoDesign

Textile waste is one of the UK's fastest growing waste streams, with the Institute of Positive Fashion estimating that consumption of new clothes in the UK is higher than in any other European country. Our partnership with McArthurGlen Group is helping to create a circular economy for textiles, by providing a clothing and textile bank at each of the Group's seven UK sites. The clothing and textiles collected will be graded into reusable and non-reusable, with materials suitable for reuse being sent on as second hand textiles. The materials not suitable for reuse will be recycled into new products, such as industrial wipes or material for insulation. As well as diverting approximately 10-12 tonnes of material from general waste and increasing recycling rates, the project will support McArthurGlen's Evolve sustainability programme, helping shoppers to recycle their fashion and promoting conscious consumption. By working with McArthurGlen to close the loop in this way, we are also able to optimise resources in line with our own ecological transformation purpose 🌍 #TextileRecycling #CircularEconomy #EcologicalTransformation