The just published Denim Deal Monitor 2022 has identified five interdepending challenges hampering transition towards an industrial scale up of post-consumer cotton recycling industry.
- Suggesting a way forward it presumes that the challenges could perhaps be met by creating more demand for recycled fabrics, and creating more supply of post-consumer recyled-cotton (PCR-cotton) feedstock.
THE DENIM DEAL: The Monitor Denim Deal—Results quantitative and qualitative monitoring 2022 gives a general summary of the results and challenges during 2022 based on the outcome of the quantitative monitoring of all participating brands and retailers and the qualitative monitoring done by 65% response of all signatories of the Denim Deal.
- The Denim Deal was sent along with a policy letter on circular textiles 2023 to the Dutch Parliament was worked on by Sourcing & supply chain strategist, Nicolas Prophte; Director of Strategy & Business Development at Bossa, Besim Ozek; a Responsible Production Partner in Turkey, Romain Narcy; Consultant at IPR Normag Marten Boels, a minister in the Dutch government on circularity, Miriam van de Kamp; CEO Cibutex Jan Lamme, Senior Manager at Ffact Consultants, Marijn van der Maesen; Senior advisor at Rijkswaterstaat, Emile Bruls; and circular textiles expert Roosmarie Ruigrok.
All signatories of the Denim Deal promise to undertake activities to achieve the following specific goals before the end of the Denim Deal in December 2023
- Brands and retailers will achieve a minimum of 5% post-consumer recycled cotton (PCR-cotton) in their own denim collections during this period by working together closely with other signatories.
- Brands and retailers will achieve their own, individual and higher goals for PCR-cotton in denim garments, and will set out their ambitions and approach in individual roadmaps, based on the close collaboration with other signatories.
- Brands and retailers will commit to individual ambitions designed to achieve the specific, joint goal of using 20% PCR-cotton fibres in 3 million pairs of jeans produced by these parties until the end of 2023.
THE CHALLENGES: The qualitative monitoring shows two main challenges:
- More demand for recycled fabrics by brands;
- More supply of feedstock to recyclers to produce PCR-cotton.
Besides these two main challenges, there are three other related challenges:
- Design for easier recycling;
- Knowledge sharing regarding material specification of PCR feedstock and innovation in recycling technology;
- More awareness among consumers.
All of the challenges of the industrial scale up are strongly interdependent.
- More awareness among consumers will have a pull on demand from brands for PCR cotton; this will accelerate investments in innovation for recycling technologies and capacity; feedstock from sorting will become more valuable and the business case for sorted material will improve.