Circularity

A paper by Zero Waste Europe has emphasised the urgent need to phase out hazardous chemicals and tackle the release of microplastics, outlining a vision where textile recycling is not just a niche activity but a cornerstone of the industry.

Netherlands could soon stop discarding the millions of tonnes of wool thanks to a Dutch designer’s innovative robot.

OnceMore—the world’s first large-scale process for recycling blended fabrics—uses a proprietery process that combines post-consumer textile waste with renewable wood from responsibly managed forests to produce high-quality textile pulp. Åsa Degerman, Project Leader for OnceMore at forest industry group Södra talks recycling.

A meaningful transition to a circular model has not quite materialised. While almost half of assessed companies have at least one circular fashion programme in place, only 31% have publicly committed to any aspect of the circularity business model. Even fewer are tracking on how much materials from those programmes are actually removed from the waste stream.

The textile industry’s environmental and health impacts necessitate urgent attention and innovative solutions. This article delves into the historical context, exploring interdisciplinary approaches, and proposes the concept of “textile ecoliteracy” as a collaborative means to address the challenges.

Fashion for Good has launched ‘Re-Start’, a textile recovery alliance in India, and released a toolkit designed to revalorise textile waste in the country.

The EU-driven T-REX Project has identified opportunities and gaps associated with digitisation and circularity with focus on three key segments, including waste mapping, supply chain traceability, and digital product passports.

Recover, Evlox and Jeanologia will showcase a recycled denim capsule collection that combines expertise from each of their specialist businesses to improve circularity in the denim industry from fibre to finish.

How to create a textile recycling supply chain? Canadian nonprofit Fashion Takes Action (FTA) has a prototype following the successful conclusion of a mechanical textile recycling pilot project. 

The UNEP report — Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Value Chain: A Global Roadmap — published earlier this year has been updated with seven annexes that offer specific advice, key actions, and priorities that stakeholders can adopt to advance the textile sector towards circularity.