A recent workshop examined the need for documentary standards and identified several areas where standards would be helpful, including terminology, sorting and grading, recycling, design for circularity, labelling; and digital product passports. It suggested recommendations for the next steps and proposed a roadmap to begin developing the identified standards to enable circular textiles.
- The development of voluntary, consensus-based standards can help smoothen the path toward a circular economy by establishing collaboration and common ground; providing a framework for businesses to operate in; and inspiring consumer confidence in circular products.
- The ‘Workshop on Identifying Standards Needs to Facilitate a Circular Economy for Textiles’ was hosted jointly by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ASTM International, and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), explored how standards facilitate the transition toward a more circular economy for textiles.
THE WORKSHOP REPORT SUMMARISES:
- The role of standards in textile circularity Standards act as guidelines for ensuring consistency and organization for a community. Developing open, consensus-based standards is critical in the transition to a CE. Harmonising and standardising circularity metrics, methods, tools, and practices across the supply chain would foster information and data sharing, improve market stability, and enable consumer trust. This includes establishing metrics and methodologies to ensure that materials are traceable and environmental impact assessments are consistent, reliable, and verifiable such that resulting “green” claims can be substantiated.
- Standards identified to support textile circularity. Standards are needed in the areas of 1) Terminology, 2) Textile Sorting and Grading to Enable Reuse and Repair, 3) Textile Recycling, 4) Design for Circularity, and 5) Digital Product Passports.
- The next steps and processes for standards development in this area A natural starting point for this community is to consider working through the existing SDO efforts for textiles through ASTM and AATCC. One place where significant effort could be directed is the identification and harmonisation of terminology used throughout the textile ecosystem.
This virtual event convened stakeholders from across the value chain and life cycle of textiles, including brands, collectors, recyclers, researchers, consultants, and policymakers, to discuss standards needs in the key areas of terminology, textile sorting, input specifications for textile recycling, guidelines for circular design, and digital product passports.
THE CONTEXT: The textiles industry is increasingly recognising the need to transition towards a circular economy to address the environmental and social impacts of the industry, particularly as it concerns waste management. However, this transition faces barriers.
- The volume of textile waste generated is increasing year-over-year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the amount of textiles sent to landfills increased 78% between 2000 and 2018, from 9.5 million tonnes to nearly 17 million tonnes annually.
- For reference, the total waste stream grew by 10% over this same timeframe.
- Per capita, textile waste grew 55% over the same period, indicating that the increased textile waste generation is not due to population growth alone.
- Per the U.S. EPA’s waste statistics and U.S. Census data, each American discarded, on average, 47 kg (103.5 lb) of textiles in 2018. Research indicates that only about 15% of used textiles are diverted from the landfill, and less than 1% are recycled back to fibres.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Textiles are an essential part of life, but we can be more thoughtful about how much of them we use and discard. We want to help everyone in the supply chain do better and set a higher standard to empower simpler, cleaner, and less material in production. Standards can help us achieve these goals and this report is an important step in that direction.
— Kathryn Beers
Director / Founder
NIST Material Measurement Laboratory / NIST Circular Economy Program
