The CFP was meant to achieve a long-term scalable transition to a circular fashion system, says Holly Syrett, Impact Programmes and Sustainability Director at GFA. This was meant to be done in two ways: first, a cross-sectoral project to support the development of the recycling industry in Bangladesh by capturing and directing post-production fashion waste back into the production of new fashion products; and second, creating a blueprint for upstream circularity that could be replicated across the manufacturing countries.
"We believe that circular fashion systems must be approached from a global supply chain approach and that manufacturers are key in being part of what that new circular system could look like so that we can redistribute value in a fair way and develop a new system that is not extractive, maintains the value of materials that are in it, and distributes value."
The CFP started with an ecosystem approach. "We started by developing circular commercial collaborations with partnerships between brands, manufacturers and recyclers to first segregate post-industrial textile waste within manufacturing facilities; then digitise the waste streams and track them to suitable recycling solutions; and then explore as a second stage how could those recycled materials be reincorporated into new products.
"We also started looking at the broader ecosystem and how we can create a conducive environment to enable these circular systems. We started exploring what the political barriers could be, and how we could make a business case for investment to increase domestic recycling capacity. This part focused on the business model--what can collaborations look like throughout the value cycle and how can we reframe business models to be more circular. What goes around comes around; so, how can we ensure this throughout those different chains of waste. And then, how can we aid those infrastructures by a supported policy and investment."
Syrett talks about the outcomes. "We saw the benefit of collaborating with a large group of stakeholders throughout the industry to create a unified voice and awareness, and also to see how it can address issues that can’t be addressed independently--such as the ownership of waste and how we can, for instance, create more awareness through a shared effort."
The CFP platform made it possible to trace the textile waste. Ann Runnel, CEO & Founder of Reverse Resources, hoped to quantify how much waste was captured from the factories, how much of that was distributed to different recycling partners. The numbers got big by the end of the year, and one and a half thousand tonnes of waste was registered on the platform. Majority of the waste registered on the platform that was traced was 100% cotton or very cotton rich, because this was what the recyclers were really looking for.
"There was a good traction on the platform. We got a lot of positive engagement from many stakeholders which seemed quite an impossible task a year before. As part of the project, we also quantified what would be the opportunity for Bangladesh; how much waste there is from general production; and, whether the material flows through the country.
"We concluded that 250,000 tonnes of waste from the readymade garment factories were cotton rich and could be recirculated back into the industry, and Bangladesh could save 15%--half a billion dollars from just using its own cotton waste as a raw material for the industry again.
"It was the first time we could quantify this at a country level and show that the opportunity is really huge for the circular economy. We also were able to show through this project that there is a very strong business case. It’s just not nice to dream, but it is a practical business case to work towards circularity."