Those are called drop-off points, and there are close to 30 of them in the city. People amble in to dispose of their used clothing, which are then collected, sorted, recycled and eventually redistributed. The startup behind the initiative has collected over 67,000 kg of textiles in the last two years or so saving 337 tonnes in CO2 emissions besides creating 34 jobs in the bargain.
It's just that the story is not from Western Europe, where all things circular seem to be happening, or for that matter from North America.
The success story is that of Africa Collect Textiles (ACT), headquartered in the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi. ACT, which upcycles textile waste into rugs, toys, yarn and other products that can be re-introduced to the market, is a partner of a much bigger Innovative Business Practices and Economic Models in the Textile Value Chain (InTex) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). InTex is a 3-year project—running from September 2020 until August 2023. It is funded by the European Union (EU).
Working with Country Partners
The InTex project is helping the countries (governments, technical intermediaries and over 30 SMEs in the textiles sector) to increase their knowledge and to apply two key methodologies: (i) eco-innovation: to shift to more sustainable business models; and (ii) the product environmental footprint (PEF): to reduce the environmental impacts of textile products along their lifecycle.
UNEP has developed its Eco-innovation Textile Supplement (to the Eco-Innovation Manual) to provide further support to project partners on the implementation of circularity and eco-innovation activities on the ground. In addition, technical training on the eco-innovation and PEF methodologies are offered to technical partners so that they could learn how to apply and use them to in turn be able to assist SMEs.
These training sessions also serve as a way for the different technical intermediary partners to share and exchange experiences. In total, since the beginning of the project, over 100 people have been trained on the two methodologies. PEF technical manuals, a factsheet and a hotspot calculator are being developed by the project to facilitate understanding of the methodology and guide users in applying the method to calculate their products’ environmental footprint.
The InTex project is focused on impacts rather than reports, and so while there will be reports to conclude the project, UNEP expects partners first and foremost to implement and carry on the learnings they have benefited from the project in their daily operations to make real-life impacts that will influence the entire textile value chain. The aim is really to shift business models in the textile sectors to make them more innovative and sustainable.
UNEP’s in-country activities are scheduled to end in August 2023, but the overall aim is that activities will continue after a project has ended and will be integrated into operations by local project partners. The project tools will continue to be available afterwards.
