With every industry conscious of being sustainable, and meeting targets laid out by governments worldwide, it’s likely we’ll see extra measures being put in place by the fashion industry to tackle its waste output.

So, how is this going to be done? Scott Hawthorne of Skips & Bins, one of the UK’s leading skip hire companies, has offered industry-level insight into how the fashion world will work to cut out the amount of waste produced.

A move to sustainable materials

One key issue affecting the waste cycle of fashion is that the materials used by manufacturers aren’t readily recyclable, contributing significantly to landfills. Data indicates that as much as 300,000 tonnes of old clothes end up in household rubbish bins, and around £140 million worth of clothing goes to landfills.

This could see more fashion brands moving towards sustainable and circular fashion cycles, prioritising reuse and recycling of materials rather than leaning into trends. There are versatile fabrics aside from cotton that could become mainstays within production in the industry, such as organic hemp and linen, which are natural fibres that can not only be grown in poor quality soil but are also used in their entirety with no waste and naturally fertilise the soil.

Emerging technology to optimise everything

Finding good alternatives to traditional materials like cotton and nylon will require embracing and using technology to reduce the environmental impacts of waste. This will not only be done through using automation tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise routes for delivery of materials and completed items but technology such as robotics will also be required in the physical development of these new, sustainable textiles.

A great example of technology that could make a huge difference in the fashion world is bioengineering brand-new materials. Orange Fiber is a company doing significant work in finding innovative solutions to create a circular fabric material. The fibres are made up of cellulose from citrus pulp before being spun into a yarn and weaved into fabrics.

Bioengineering is also used to develop synthetic alternatives to materials that require hides without harming animals. Modern Meadow has emerged as one of the pioneers in leather alternatives, which are made with 90% sustainable content while being stronger and lighter than leather without a single trace of animal products.

Increased focus on ESG

Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) are considerations for businesses to be more aware of how their corporate practices affect the communities and world around them. This includes transparency around a business’s shareholder rights, internal controls, and where funds are allocated. For companies looking to improve their ESG, this could include selecting charitable organisations to work with to improve their impact on their environment or local community.

Fashion brands may start reconsidering their ESG strategies, but outdoor brand Patagonia took this to the next level in September 2022, announcing in a press release that “the earth is now our sole shareholder.” This was in response to the Chouinard family transferring their shares to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective, with the aim of reinvesting profit into environmentally friendly practices.

Another great example is H&M Group and BESTSELLER partnering with the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), announcing in Dember 2023 their plan to invest in the development of an offshore wind project in Bangladesh. While it won’t commence until 2028, it’s still expected to reduce emissions by around 725,000 tonnes.

While steps have been made in the right direction, it’s crucial for the future of the fashion industry to focus on sustainability and a circular economy of products. As we near global targets of net-zero and the reduction of physical waste, we’ll likely see more and more brands engage with ESG strategies and invest in sustainable materials and technologies to find the perfect balance of style and sustainability.

With interinstitutional negotiations poised to begin, and the obligation to separately collect used textiles starting in January 2025, EuRIC Textiles urges swift action to reach a deal before the end of the year.

Under the adopted Council position of 17 June, the Commission shall consider establishing specific targets for waste prevention, collection, sorting and recycling of textiles by the end of 2028. Member-States are given the option to use eco-modulation of fees to target ultra-fast-fashion, based on criteria that consider textile products overproduction and overconsumption practices.

Harmonised extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes requiring fashion brands, retailers and textile producers to cover the costs of textile waste collection and treatment shall also be established within 30 months after the directive comes into force. EuRIC Textiles welcomes the inclusion of microenterprises in the EPR scope, ensuring that all producers, regardless of size, are accountable.

However, EuRIC Textiles warns against the potential of Member States to introduce EPR fees for the placing on the market of second-hand clothes and textiles. Only new textile products placed on the market for the first time should fall under the EPR scope, as EPR is an application of the polluter pays principle and reusing clothing has a positive environmental impact.

Mariska Boer, President of EuRIC’s Textiles reuse and recycling branch, stated: “Introducing EPR fees for re-use operators who put second-hand clothes on the market will be fatal blow to a sector already on the brink of collapse due to rising costs and dropping sales.”

Ahead of the upcoming trilogues, EuRIC Textiles calls for:

• Retaining ownership of collected waste with all waste operators regardless of their social status, ensuring equal treatment for all actors involved in the collection and treatment of used textiles and textile waste.
• Broad representation in Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) including collectors, sorters and recyclers, to ensure that EPR effectively supports a high-quality circular economy in the European textiles industry.
• Implementing EPR at the national level 18 months after the WFD’s entry into force, aligning with the Parliament’s proposal, instead of the Council’s 30-month implementation period proposal.

This marks another milestone in the file’s legislative process to hold textile producers accountable to the ‘polluter pays’ principle.

The Council’s green light to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles across the EU was long overdue. However, the text lacks crucial provisions, including concrete waste prevention and management targets. The meagre clause to allow setting reduction targets after 2028 is insufficient given the vast quantity of textile waste generated.

Theresa Mörsen, Waste & Resources Policy Officer at Zero Waste Europe, states: “During the negotiations, a few Member States had the good sense to openly voice their intentions to end fast fashion. Honouring the long-established polluter pays principle means addressing the root cause of the waste crisis we’re in. We are delighted to see that the Council recognises a brand’s business strategy as a factor in fee contributions and looks at quantities and the extrinsic durability of products. This will make it easier to hold apparel giants accountable and work towards more sufficient business models. But it is unacceptable that the Presidency proposed extending the transposition period from 18 to 24 months. This extension means valuable time is lost, effectively giving polluters a free ride.”

Meanwhile, Member States agreed to maintain the food waste reduction targets for 2030, as proposed by the Commission. The text includes a review clause for the targets, set for 2027, yet this would be far too late to change course. Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which requires a 50% reduction, will most likely be missed unless Member States put in a substantial effort at the national level. Similarly, the potential legislative proposal for a target for food waste and losses in primary production, scheduled for the end of 2027, is considerably delayed. This is significant because Eurostat already measures those losses.

“I sincerely have to question the commitment of many Member States today to act decisively on climate change,” Mörsen continues. “Not acting on food waste reduction contradicts the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change has only recently warned against the huge impact food waste has on climate change.”

Finally, the text allows Member States to require textile producers to cover the costs of textile waste that ends up in mixed municipal waste.

Janek Vähk, Zero Pollution Policy Manager at Zero Waste Europe, states: “ The adopted text is vague and contradictory. The costs associated with extracting textiles from mixed waste, and then recycling them, must be covered by EPR fees in all states. This is crucial, as the Joint Research Centre published a study showing that 78% of post-consumer textile waste isn’t separately collected and ends up incinerated or landfilled. This mismanagement harms the environment, causes excessive greenhouse gas emissions, water use, pollution, and unnecessary land use. The Council failed to address this, while the Parliament’s position is much stronger in this respect as it urges Member States to implement waste sorting systems for all municipal mixed waste.”

Zero Waste Europe urges EU Member States to align with the position taken by the European Parliament in the forthcoming negotiations. Moreover, the environmental network calls for a more substantial review to become a priority during the new European mandate.

The report delves into consumer disposal behaviour, textile waste composition, and the potential for fibre-to-fibre recycling within the country. It provides crucial insights for making informed decisions for further investments, infrastructure development and the next steps towards circularity.

The United States is a global leader in textile consumption and waste generation, positioning itself as one of the largest sources of secondary raw materials for post-consumer textile feedstock. Despite this, only 15% of the textile waste generated in the US is currently recovered, with 85% ending up in landfills or incinerators.

With the impending policies in the European Union and certain American states, alongside commitments from both public and private sectors to promote fibre-to-fibre recycling, there is a growing demand for infrastructure related to post-consumer textile collection, sorting, and recycling.

In the pursuit of establishing a functional reverse supply chain and the necessary infrastructure, two critical areas lack data – consumer disposal behaviour, and material characteristics of post-consumer textiles. The Sorting for Circularity USA project addressed these gaps through a comprehensive national consumer survey and waste composition analysis.

The survey revealed that 60% of respondents divert textiles, while 4% discard them, driven primarily by factors such as condition and fit. On the other hand, the waste composition analysis unveiled that over 56% of post-consumer textiles are suitable for fibre-to-fibre recycling, with cotton and polyester being the most prevalent fibre types, indicating a substantial potential for these textiles to be used as feedstock for mechanical and chemical recycling processes.

The project revealed a $1.5 billion opportunity for fibre-to-fibre recycling by redirecting non-rewearable textiles from landfills and incinerators to recycling streams. The report outlines growth strategies for the US textile recycling industry, emphasising enhanced financial value through efficiency improvements, increased commodity valuation, and policy mechanisms like extended producer responsibility schemes. Collaboration among stakeholders is crucial, including brands, government, retailers, consumers, collectors, sorters, recyclers, and financial institutions, to promote circularity, invest in research and development, and advocate for supportive policies and incentives to drive technological innovation. This redirection of textiles towards recycling underscores the substantial economic potential of embracing circularity in the textile industry.

There is an opportunity to build on these insights and assess the feasibility of different sorting business models and (semi) automated sorting technologies to create a demo facility suitable for closed-loop textile recycling. Ultimately, evaluating the commercial and technical feasibility of a semi-automated sorting process and identifying investment opportunities to scale solutions nationwide.

The European Environment Agency’s briefing shows that most textile waste in Europe currently ends up in mixed waste, and that sorting and recycling capacity need to be urgently scaled up to ensure better and more circular use of used textiles.

The EEA briefing ‘Management of used and waste textiles in Europe’s circular economy’ shows the current state of textile waste generation, collection systems, treatment capacity and the different classifications for used textiles in Europe.

According to the EEA estimate, around 16 kg of textile waste per person was generated in the EU in 2020. Only about one quarter of this amount (4.4 kg) was collected separately for reuse and recycling, but the rest ended up in mixed household waste. Of all textile waste, 82% came from consumers and the rest was waste from manufacturing or textiles that were never sold.

The EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD) mandates Member States to have separate collection systems for used textiles from next year. The European Commission has also proposed a targeted revision of the WFD to introduce mandatory Extender Producer Responsibility for textiles in all Member States to make producers responsible for the full life cycle of textile products, from their design to waste management. The Commission proposal is also introducing separate collection rules for textiles and sorting requirements for used textiles shipment.

According to a survey conducted by the EEA in 2023, most EU Member States already had separate collection systems in place but mostly to capture reusable textiles. The EEA report warns that, besides separate collection, sorting and recycling capacities need to be scaled up in Europe to avoid that collected textiles end up in incinerators, landfills, or are exported to regions outside the EU.

There is also a need to harmonise definitions and reporting practices on used and waste textiles. This is also clearly shown in the data collected by the EEA that shows wide discrepancies due to the differing interpretations of what constitutes waste and what constitutes used textiles.

Read the briefing

The company wants to introduce Reuser, a system for the recovery of used textiles.Through the use of artificial intelligence, Reuser classifies garments, identifying specific typologies such as skirts, shirts, trousers, and socks. This detailed classification allows for greater efficiency in recycling and extends the life cycle of textiles.

The Ecoflake system is a technological solution for separating plastic flakes. Using high-definition CMOS RGB cameras along with NIR technology, Ecoflake achieves detailed classification by colour, transparency, and composition of materials.

Hall B6, booth 301

Without immediate intervention, this crisis will escalate, causing irreversible economic and environmental damage.

Rising costs, dropping sales due to intense competition and legislative gaps are putting valuable reusable textile resources and the circular economy at risk. The combination of unsold second-hand clothing due to a global drop in sales and lacking business models for recycling, discarded textiles threaten to end up directly in the incinerator without being reused or recycled.

Mariska Boer, the President of EuRIC’s Textiles Branch, stated:”The prospect of incineration becoming the only remaining option if sorting discarded textiles becomes financially unviable is deeply alarming. All industry efforts to create a sustainable textile value chain in a circular economy would be in vain when textiles can no longer be collected and sorted in Europe. When second-hand clothing can no longer be supplied to countries that depend on it, this will have a massive economic impact both locally and within the EU.”

EuRIC has consistently called for urgent EU-wide action to prevent the collapse of the continent’s textile reuse and recycling sector. Swift action should be taken to implement supportive EPR schemes under the revised Waste Framework Directive (WFD), while green public procurement measures, setting mandatory recycled content in textile products, and introducing recyclability criteria through the ecodesign regulation (ESPR) are essential to stimulate demand for recycled materials, encourage sustainable practices, and ensure the viability of the textile recycling industry.

According to the manufacturer, Redwave Tex sorts materials according to predefined parameters and should be able to fulfil two main tasks: sorting whole garments for reuse and sorting shredded textiles for further industrial processing.

The sensor technology from Redwave Tex is designed to enable high-precision identification and sorting of textiles according to predefined criteria. It should also be possible to process large quantities of textiles quickly. Customisation to the customer’s requirements is possible. For example, sorting can be based on size, colour or material composition.

Hall B5, booth 238

For the first time since 2019, the annual meeting of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) was held again from May 23 to 25, 2022 – this time in Barcelona. In addition to the opportunity to engage with 1,300 participants, the event focused on the European Commission’s plans for waste shipment regulation. In its proposal, the Commission argues that if waste is exported, it could “pose risks to human health and the environment, especially if the waste is not properly controlled”. However, BIR criticizes the EU as being more concerned with the “positive economic value” of this waste as stated in the proposal. Regarding steel scrap, BIR Director General Arnaud Brunet expressed that for the EU to remain within the Union is desired “so that steel mills can decarbonize for a good price.” Ross Bartley, BIR director of trade and environment, called this intention protectionism.

Dare more lobbying

BIR representatives were self-critical of the need to do more to represent the interests of the recycling industry in Brussels. “We’ve got to keep beating the drum,” BIR President Tom Bird said in Barcelona.

Other challenges currently facing member companies in the various BIR divisions and the industry as a whole included Russia’s war against Ukraine, rising energy and transportation prices, restrictions on trade due to Shanghai lockdowns, and labor shortages felt around the world, including as a result of the Corona pandemic.

In discussions with guest speaker Jack Farchy, author of the book “The World for Sale,” and Robin Martin, head of market development at the London Metal Exchange (LME), BIR representatives also discussed possible backgrounds to the sudden surge in nickel prices on the LME in March 2022 and how such events can be prevented in the future.

The Starlinger recoSTAR universal 165 H-VAC iV+, which is part of Korteks’ 10 million dollars investment in a new polymer recycling facility, took up operation in May 2021. It has a production capacity of 7,200 tons per year and currently processes clean in-house polyester fibers from production scrap together with washed post-consumer PET flakes at a ratio of 50/50. Korteks uses the polyester regranulate at a share of 100 % for its new polyester filament yarn line it is going to market under the name “TAÇ Reborn”. With this investment, the company has made an important step towards establishing a circular economy in the Turkish textile industry.

“We have been in extensive cooperation with Starlinger for a long time” said Barış Mert, General Manager of Korteks. “Thanks to their unique and innovative recycling technology we can offer new products in line with the circular economy model. That’s why, as Europe’s largest integrated and innovative polyester yarn producer, we are very pleased to work with Starlinger, the market leader in PET and polyester recycling and refining.”

Rapid Sleeve Changer: Finest melt filtration for perfect yarn

The Starlinger recycling line is the first of its kind in Turkey and is equipped with special components for filament yarn recycling. A RSC (Rapid Sleeve Changer) candle filter developed by Starlinger ensures finest melt filtration down to 15 μm. It has been specially designed for polyester recycling and reaches an output of 1000 kg/h. For continuous operation the filter elements are changed “on the fly” without interrupting production, which significantly limits melt loss.

The viscoSTAR SSP unit at the end of the recycling process guarantees consistent IV increase according to the first-in-first-out principle. This makes sure that the produced regranulate has the ideal properties required for filament yarn production. The technical configuration of the line does not only allow the processing of a polyester fiber/PET flake mix as input materials, but also 100 % polyester filament scrap or 100 % PET bottle flakes.

With the new recycling facility, which comprises a total closed area of 17,000 m² and has a monthly production capacity of 600 tons, Korteks was able to reduce the production waste at its virgin PES yarn site to zero.

A paradigm shift in synthetic fiber production

“We are proud to be a partner in Korteks’ quest for more sustainability in the textile business”, said Paul Niedl, Commercial Head of Starlinger recycling technology. “Turkey is a significant global player in this industry. If more and more Turkish textile manufacturers start using recycled materials, this will be an important signal for the sector and a big step towards a circular economy. We support this development with our extensive know-how in synthetic fiber recycling and supply the fine-tuned and reliable recycling technology required in this field.”

Korteks expects the recycling market in general to grow as there is increased acceptance for recycled products in the society, and predicts the need for recycling solutions also for other synthetic and natural fibers.

“At Korteks, we always aim at sustainable growth that reduces environmental impact and creates value. For this reason, we are gradually expanding our product range in sustainable and smart textiles every day”, said Barış Mert. “The period of the pandemic that the world has been going through has once again strikingly revealed the necessity of building a sustainable living together. The textile industry is also deeply affected by this big transformation on the globe. We believe that those who can manage this change well will also set the global textile agenda in the future. With this belief, we carried out the polyester recycling facility project with an investment of 10 million dollars. Thanks to this project, we broke new ground in Turkey and can produce polyester filament yarn from 100 % PET bottles. Having Starlinger at our side as a business partner gives us strength in our long-term journey towards sustainability.”

Textiles and clothing are essential to our everyday life. Over the last two decades, the clothing consumption has more than doubled, leading to a drastic increase of discarded textiles. The EU-wide obligation to separately collect textiles by 2025 will further increase the supply of used textiles, shoes and accessories. To ensure optimal re-use and recycling of the used textiles, proper handling and sorting is essential.

The newly published “Euric Textiles Handling & Sorting Specifications for re-use and recycling of used textiles” are recommended as a guideline throughout the collection and sorting process to prepare items for either re-use or recycling in accordance with the waste hierarchy and best practices of the industry. They are intended to be used by industry professionals throughout the textile value chain in their day-to-day operations as the processes described secure the high quality of second-hand textiles for re-use and/or the appropriate infeed for the subsequent recycling process.

“At Euric Textiles, we feel it is important to have uniform and clear specifications describing how used textiles should be handled to achieve the highest possible percentage of re-use and recycling”, explained Mariska Zandvliet, Euric Textiles President. “With the expected increase of used textiles to be collected after 2025, it must remain our top priority to minimize quality loss throughout the sorting process and maximize possibilities to re-use and recycle. Our specifications, prepared by leading industry professionals, ensure that the quality in collected textiles is retained and describe a sorting process for sustainable re-use and recycling. Thus, serving as reliable source for the entire industry facilitating circularity in textiles“, she concluded.

Recycled textile is procured through reusing old outfits and waste materials through an array of different treatments. Recyclable textiles are typically found in municipal waste from sources such as waste clothes, footwear, rugs, towels etc. The significance of reusing textiles is highly being recognized. Nevertheless, textile recycling is certainly a prominent challenge to be remitted as we should definitely move closer to a zero landfill circle.

Once dumped in the disposal area, it takes a few weeks or sometimes a few years for natural fibers to degrade properly. They may let out CO₂ and methane gas into the blue. At the same time, synthetic textiles are crafted not to putrefy. In the landfill, they may release toxic elements into soil and groundwater.

When it comes to textile recycling, the benefits it provides are numerous indeed. The advantages are as follows:

• Declines landfill space supplies, keeping in mind that clothing made of synthetic textile do not really decay easily and that there remains a chance even for natural fibers to release greenhouse fumes.
• Decreases unnecessary consumption of energy and water.
• Shuns off pollution.
• Finally, gives way to reduced demand for dyes.

Andritz, an Austrian venture, is all set to stock textile recycling tools to a Sweden based green-field reprocessing factory, namely Renewcell. The start-up of the firm is slated for the next year. The Andritz plant happens to provide recycling solutions for an array of different applications such as organic, wood waste, household, and the like.

The prime elements of the new reprocessing method will be Andritz ADuro shredders and it will rip up used textiles in only one tearing up rung. With distinctive abilities, the ADuro shredders will expurgate the incoming material evenly and neatly while allowing a considerably high throughput. In the succeeding separation phases, contaminants like zips, fasteners, and brooches will be drawn out from the frayed textiles. Renewcell utilizes this pre-treated substances to yield an unadulterated and untainted natural dissolving mash made from hundred per cent recycled fabrics & knits. Textile recycling agents across the globe have made a fervent plea for countries to follow the market instance in Africa and cuddle the depletion of used attires and fabrics to creep up on a circular economy.

There is a pretty common fallacy that secondhand outfit shipped to developing economies partly come off being discarded right away. However, the fact is apparels not sold straight in the market simply gets deputed over the supply chain and ends up being vended in other smaller marketplaces throughout the province. Also, it is fair to understand that no lucrative business will ever lay out money on packaging, conveying, and distributing products only to get them heaped in a dumping ground.

As per the experts in this domain, textile recycling is rather the solution than the hiccup. Secondhand attires exported to different regions are classified and assembled for customer preferences and needs. The truth is if apparels don’t sell, they are often dispatched to other markets, may be in some different countries, for exchange or reprocessing; and they are hardly thrown away.

According to Allied Market Research, the global recycled textile market is projected to cite a significant CAGR from 2020 to 2027. The considerable low cost of recycled goods than that of virgin produces has acted as the major driver fueling the growth of the recycled textiles market in more than one way. Also, in the past few years, there’s been huge development in recycling technologies across the world which has paved the way for a plethora of opportunities in the industry.

The fact that recycled polyesters are resistant to chemicals, durable, sturdy, and easy to dye has made them a highly preferred choice in several industry verticals. At the same time, properties such as high strength, good resistance & pliability, and high moisture retrieval capacity make recycled nylon an expedient option too. Furthermore, reprocessing of nylon tends to hold out less energy depletion, waste water reserves, and reduction of CO₂ emission. This factor even boosts the demand for recycled nylon yet more.

Here, it’s worth stating that the outbreak of COVID-19 led to extended lockdowns and bans on international trade, which in turn impacted the recycled textile market negatively. Nonetheless, as the government bodies have started easing off the restrictions and mass inoculation drives have been initiated in the majority of countries, the market is expected to recoup soon.

Core elements of the new recycling system will be Andritz ADuro shredders, which will shred used textiles in only one shredding step. With unique capabilities, the ADuro shredders cut the incoming material uniformly and cleanly while enabling a very high throughput. In the subsequent separation stages, contaminants like buttons and zippers will be removed from the shredded textiles. Renewcell uses this pre-treated material to produce a pure, natural dissolving pulp made from 100% recycled textiles.

In addition, the scope of supply includes additional key pieces of equipment. With the state-of-the-art equipment from Andritz, up to 60,000 tons of used textiles per year can be handled in the new recycling plant.

Renewcell, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, was founded in 2012 and is specialized in the recycling of textiles. The recycling technology employed by Renewcell dissolves used cotton and other cellulose fibers and transforms them into a new raw material, the so called Circulose® pulp, which is further used to make biodegradable virgin quality viscose or lyocell textile fibers for the fashion industry.

Some of Europe’s largest networks of green groups are joining forces to demand an end to fast fashion in the textile industry, one of the world’s largest industrial polluters.

As part of the Wardrobe Change campaign, NGOs are calling for new policies to stop runaway overproduction of textiles. Proposed measures include minimum standards for how long clothes should last, a ban on the destruction of unsold and returned goods, rules to verify and substantiate green claims, and ambitious targets for an absolute reduction in the amount of natural resources used across the supply chain.

The group is also calling for urgent rules on hazardous chemicals in fashion and for moves to combat environmental harm to include action to end labour rights’ violations in supply chains.

The call comes as clothing and textile production continues to soar despite an abundance of sustainability initiatives from major fashion brands and retailers.

The European Commission is currently gathering feedback from industry and civil society organisations, with the aim of putting forward new measures by the end of the year.

Emily Macintosh, Policy Officer for Textiles at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), said: “We can’t ask people to do their part when it comes to sustainability if the multi-billion-dollar companies responsible for promoting such unsustainable consumption habits are not being held to account. EU laws should focus on reducing the amount of resources used across supply chains and on boosting the market for second-hand and repairable textiles. Fast fashion’s linear and exploitative business model must become a thing of the past.”

Valeria Botta, Programme Manager at ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards, added: “The EU can transform the way textile products are designed, making them sustainable by default. Our clothes need to last longer, be easier to mend and reuse, and be made without harmful materials and substances. To make sure textiles and their production are truly circular, we need ambitious EU laws that set minimum requirements, push the market towards the best option, and include ambitious binding targets for material and consumption footprints. The EU should grasp this opportunity to finally regulate this industry and inspire others.”

The NGOs’ position paper has four key demands:

• Make sustainable textile products the norm through high minimum design standards, better production processes, traceability, transparency and information disclosure, and banning the destruction of unsold and returned goods.
• Drive resource-sufficient textile consumption with rules on what reliable green claims can be made on products, harmonised labelling, and better information on the expected lifetime and repairability of a product.
• Leave the linear business model behind by taxing virgin resource use and making producers responsible for the products they put on the market from cradle to grave.
• Hold the EU textile industry accountable for its role in the world through a trade reset and strong human rights and environmental due diligence rules.

Full list of demands

This is according to new research by Circle Economy’s Circular Jobs Initiative*, Putting circular textiles to work: The employment potential of circular clothing in the Netherlands. The report outlines three distinct circular scenarios—a shift in consumption patterns, prioritisation of reuse and repair, and upscaling of textile-to-textile recycling—through the lens of employment impacts, finding the second one to be most beneficial to the job market. But to realise such a scenario would require bridging current skills gaps, and re- and upskilling workers—bringing new careers, from (re)manufacturing designers to quality assessors to resale collection managers, to the fore.

The impact of the fashion industry on people and planet is well-known: the clothing industry accounts for around 5% of emissions worldwide, and workers around the globe are subject to unethical working conditions pervasive in the sector. And yet, the hunger for fast fashion is growing: in the Netherlands alone, residents purchase an average of one new garment per week, and around the world the equivalent of one truck load of clothing is burnt or incinerated every second. The need for a circular clothing industry—and especially one that benefits workers—is clear; but what skills do we need to get there?

Working in collaboration with the Goldschmeding Foundation, Circle Economy and HIVA dove into the intricacies of this question, with the aim of supporting national actors in the Dutch clothing value chain from linear to circular and supporting employment opportunities in the process.

Boosting clothing reuse and repair would see the greatest benefits, the report finds: a growing second-hand market and increased demand for repair and maintenance services could increase job creation in the industry by 25%—equal to 24,286 new full-time equivalents (FTEs) in repair and maintenance, 17,319 FTEs shifted from first- to second-hand sales and an additional 4,611 FTEs in second-hand sales. Some of the skills required for this scenario are already present in the Dutch labour market: repair and maintenance, logistics and procurement, manufacturing, management, sales and retail, waste management and industrial cleaning skills already crop up across the clothing value chain. As we progress towards a more circular system, the need for these skills will only become more prevalent—as will new jobs in technology, e-commerce and textile sorting, to better support repair and cycling. And what’s more, progressing to a fully circular sector that fulfills both environmental and social standards will need aspects of all three scenarios to be developed in combination, bringing additional skills to the fore.

The research leads collaborated with Amsterdam-based social enterprise Makers Unite to further explore skills gaps for their current and future business models. The organisation, which works with skilled newcomers to the Netherlands with a refugee background to create sustainable, upcycled products, hopes to convert to a fully circular business model. It notes the growing relevance of data scientists and analysts, sustainability and innovation managers, logistics and customer communications workers and the redevelopment of design, product development and tailoring roles.

‘I believe a transition towards a circular economy model starts by understanding how to make the best use of our existing resources: material and human. The innovation needed for the skillforce will create new opportunities for social inclusion to be fostered—and this is why we have focused our efforts on new business models.’ – Thami Schweichler, Managing Director at Makers Unite

The benefits of realising such a scenario are plentiful—but how can we get there? This will require committed coordination between relevant actors, from the Dutch government and private sector stakeholders to academia and education institutions—as well as action that ensures no worker is left behind or subject to unethical working conditions. Training and retraining must take a holistic approach and be directed at unemployed workers and those at risk of being phased out in addition to the employed workforce—and the role of vocational education and training must be recognised as essential to advancing the circular economy and building back better from the covid-19 pandemic.

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The Sorting for Circularity Project is driven by Fashion for Good with catalytic funding provided by Laudes Foundation and facilitated by brand partners, adidas, Bestseller, and Zalando, as well as Inditex as an external partner. Fashion for Good partners Arvind Limited, Birla Cellulose, Levi Strauss & Co., Otto and PVH Corp. are participating as part of the wider working group. Circle Economy leads the creation and implementation of the methodology, with support from Refashion, to assess textile waste composition. Both organisations build on their extensive experience from similar projects, such as the Interreg Fibersort Project and previous textile composition analyses.

The analysis will provide the most representative snapshot of textile waste composition generated in Europe. What is more, Fashion for Good and Circle Economy will map the current and future capabilities of textile recyclers in the region – illuminating crucial gaps between the sorting and recycling industry, and the innovation, investment and policy changes required to accelerate circularity.

Findings from this research will ultimately enable sorters to take action through the support of a digital platform that matches their textile waste with recyclers. This open-source platform will bring greater transparency, spark greater harmonisation between the industries, and ensure the learnings contribute to foundational change for the industry at large.

The project brings together the largest industrial textile sorters in the North-West European region; including the Boer Group, I:CO (a part of SOEX Group), JMP Wilcox (a part of Textile Recycling International) and Texaid, placing key industry players firmly at the heart of the project and driving the industry towards greater circularity.

The French accredited Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) eco-organisation Refashion, a key project partner, provides input into the methodology and leads the NIR scanner calibration. Aligning the Sorting for Circularity Project with their own study in France ensures methodologies and findings can be standardised, compared and implemented on a larger scale.

B.I.G. Yarns, a division of Beaulieu International Group, announces its latest development, Eqocycle, a fully recyclable PA6 yarn with 75% recycled content, offering the same high-quality performance of virgin PA6 yarn. The new recycled yarn mainly based on post-industrial waste supports contract, automotive and residential carpet manufacturers with a drop-in circular solution to reduce the ecological footprint of their end products.

Eqocycle is made with recycled granulates derived from pre-consumer recycled and regenerated PA6, certified by Control Union for Global Recycled Standard (GRS) Certification. The use of less virgin materials implicates a decrease of fossil fuels by 58% and a 27% decrease in energy consumption. On top, EqoCycle yarns allow a reduction of 37% of CO₂ eq./kg compared to the fossil based yarns. The environmental impacts of Eqocycle with 75% recycled content were calculated through an LCA analysis, verified according to ISO 14025 and EN 15804+A1 and published in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD registration number S-P-02415).

Customers have the assurance that for every 1.000 tons of Eqocycle yarn, 13,562 barrels of oil are saved and 2.700 tons of CO₂ emission are reduced, compared to PA6 traditionally made from virgin materials.

Emmanuel Colchen, General Manager Yarns Division, comments: “Eqocycle is a perfect example of how higher resource efficiency in our industry can promote greater circularity in our customers’ industries. Minimizing waste, re-using materials, and saving energy and carbon emissions in production, it provides our customers and carpet brands with a new sustainable alternative that won’t compromise their end-product performance but will support their increasing focus on CO₂ reduction and global warming potential. All part of our wider commitment to encourage decoupling from the need for only virgin feedstocks and moving towards a circular economy for yarns and soft flooring industries.”

Eqocycle is the latest circular solution in B.I.G. Yarns’ PA6 portfolio, joining Eqobalance PA6, based on biomass balance renewable resources, which offers up to 75% CO₂ reduction. Both exemplify the company’s on-going investment in developing new products that better serve customers’ needs in a sustainable way. B.I.G. Yarns fully pursues opportunities to support and solve the global environmental challenges through innovation, investment and collaboration, as part of its sincere belief in, and broader commitment to, Social Responsibility.

The innovation of Eqocycle and EqoBalance PA6 aligns with the company’s active integration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its business activities, creating value for customers and engaging employees and value chain partners.

These risks were particularly acute for the reuse sector, he added.

While recent months had brought some improvement in demand and payments for sorted goods, prices were still “15-25% lower than before COVID-19”, according to Mr Böschen. Demand for recycled goods, meanwhile, had not picked up at all. Many sorting companies in Europe were working “at reduced capacities” while stocks of originals held in warehouses were “one and a half to two times higher than normal at this time of year”.

He concluded: “It will take at least 18 to 24 months to return to ‘Business as Usual’ in our industry.” The longer the pandemic remained an issue, the harder it would be, he said.

Lisa Jepsen of US-based Garson & Shaw reported that most companies in the USA and Central America had seen their sales nosedive in the early stages of the pandemic but these had now returned to approaching normal levels. Stocks had been quick to fall once thrift stores reopened, she added.

According to Peter Saas of Pisatex Gulf in the United Arab Emirates, sales had now recovered to around 80-85% of their usual levels. The African market was back to normal although prices were showing a slight decline, he also noted.

Reporting on the Bulgarian market, Yavor Pandov from the country’s Association of Recyclers and Traders of Second Hand Clothes (ARTSHC) confirmed that volumes had returned to around 90% of pre-COVID levels. Africa and Pakistan had resumed their regular purchasing levels “in terms of quantities, not in terms of price”.

Mr Pandov went on to confirm that a tax on imported second-hand clothing was still being discussed within his country’s parliament and now seemed likely to be imposed despite on-going opposition from the ARTSHC. Back in 2018, the association had received support from BIR in fighting the proposal, with the world association arguing that a tax would harm domestic consumers and would prevent the Bulgarian government from meeting the recycling targets for textiles set down in the EU’s revised Waste Framework Directive. BIR Textiles Division’s General Delegate Alan Wheeler of the UK’s Textile Recycling Association told the webinar that a tax on used clothing “defeats the whole point of EPR (extended producer responsibility)”.

In the first of two guest presentations, Emmanuel Katrakis, Secretary General of the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC), focused on the Circular Economy Action Plan adopted by the European Commission in March 2020 which enshrines the development of a new EU textiles strategy by 2021 to strengthen competitiveness and innovation in the sector as well as to boost the market for reuse. EuRIC believes the strategy should champion: EPR to support a proper infrastructure and to modulate fees based on textiles’ reusability, recyclability and recycled content; adapted customs codes to ease transboundary movements of textiles; and development/funding of “fit-for-purpose” technologies. Mr Katrakis also stressed the importance of targets and incentives covering, for example, reuse and incorporation of recycled fibres in new products.

Fellow guest speaker Hilde van Duijn, Senior Project Manager at Netherlands-based Circle Economy, outlined some of the latest technologies available for textiles as well as the challenges faced, including: the lack of market “pull” for non-wearable textiles; the “negative perception” of recycled content; and the ever-changing composition of post-consumer textiles. It was “very important”, she underlined, that representatives of the end-of-life value chain – and not just brands and producers – were at the table when these issues were discussed.

During a subsequent panel discussion moderated by Mr Wheeler, Mr Böschen insisted: “We need solutions for what to do with those textiles that have reached the end of their technical life.” Building an infrastructure in the EU to cope with separate collections by the year 2025 would require investment, he also maintained.

Hyperspectral imaging from the Finnish company Specim offers the technical requirements for successfully achieving this ambitious goal.

The textile industry causes a significant part of the pollution from which mankind is increasingly suffering worldwide. The reasons for this are diverse. On the one hand, the production of fabrics and clothing requires a high level of resources, especially e.g. with cotton an immense water consumption. On the other hand, a large part of used and new textiles – current estimates are around 16 million tons per year – ends up in landfills, although at least a partial reuse of the materials would be possible. In addition, microplastics as the residues from synthetic textile fibers are increasingly reaching soil and water, where they endanger the existence of entire animal species and mankind through the food chains. The trend towards replacing clothing with new ones more and more frequently is partly responsible for this negative development. Companies in the fashion industry are presenting more and more collections each year. Where one new summer and winter collection used to be on the market in the past, up to 25 new launches per year are no longer uncommon.

In order to reduce the serious consequences of these developments for the environment, it is necessary to significantly increase the rate of textile recycling. This cannot be achieved with the current manual methods, since employees cannot sort different substances with the required speed and endurance and, in addition, special knowledge of the different types of textile is required: reliable identification and separation of different types of fibers and substances with blended fabrics based solely on appearance is almost impossible by hand. To make things worse, such workplaces are generally very unsanitary and even potentially dangerous due to possible toxins in the textiles to be sorted. In the long term, manual sorting of textiles is therefore extremely expensive.

New EU guidelines against textile waste

The European Union adopted new guidelines for combating textile waste in 2018 and set a deadline for its member states: by 2025, they should completely recycle all textiles. According to the current state of the art, this ambitious goal can only be achieved with a few methods. Hyperspectral imaging is one of these technologies, Esko Herrala knows. The co-founder and senior application specialist of the Finnish company Specim has been dealing with the question of how to separate and recycle different materials economically and safely for many years. He has contributed to this topic in a report by the “Committee for the Future” written for the Finnish parliament. The aim of this report was to find out how Finland can benefit from the vision industry and in which fields of application this technology can be used.

“I was responsible for the circular economy part of that report where I demonstrated various possible uses of photonics systems in the area of waste separation,” says Herrala. During a presentation of the results at the Helsinki Parliament in 2019, the Finnish government then defined the sorting of textiles as a prioritized area of application and has set the goal of collecting and recycling all of the country’s textile waste by 2023. “Finland is already one of the world’s leading countries in the field of plastics and construction waste sorting and would also like to use the great economic potential of textile recycling with innovative solutions,” the Specim co-founder explains.

Hyperspectral NIR systems as a solution

From the end of 2019, Specim dealt intensively with the task and looked for suitable partners. For the manufacturer of NIR hyperspectral cameras, it was obvious that this technology was to be considered as a possible solution for textile sorting. “First of all, you have to know that different textiles have individual spectral characteristics that can be used to classify the fabrics. Fabrics either consist of natural fibers such as Cotton, of animal fibers such as Sheep’s wool or of synthetic fibers such as polyester. Mixed fabrics are also often made from different types of fibers,” explains Herrala. “The different materials differ in their chemical and molecular structures. As a result, these substances react differently to electromagnetic waves of different wavelengths in the way they absorb, reflect or let them pass through.”

These characteristics can be used to perform a spectral analysis of textiles based on the reflected light using hyperspectral imaging systems. Special cameras with wavelengths in the near infrared range (NIR) in combination with a spectrograph enable a clear identification of the chemical composition of the inspected material and thus form the basis for an automated sorting of textiles.

“Hyperspectral NIR image processing systems in combination with suitable classification algorithms allow the differentiation of substances with different fabrics and colors as well as the identification of natural, animal and synthetic fibers,” explains Herrala. “This technology can even deliver quantitative information about the proportions of synthetic and natural fibers in blended fabrics.”

Specific requirements

The development of a reliable solution for sorting textiles presented SPECIM with specific requirements, recalls Herrala: “When sorting plastics, there is the phenomenon that black materials largely absorb the light, making it much more difficult to distinguish between different types of black plastics. This problem also occurs with black fabrics. We were able to solve it by using other cameras with wavelengths in the mid-infrared range (MWIR, Mid Wave Infrared), but due to the higher cost for such cameras, the required cost-effectiveness has to be checked for the individual use case.”

Another difficulty is the differentiation of different substances when they are damp or wet. “We used both dry and wet material to train the system and then tested the classification algorithm with dry and damp textiles. This path led to usable results, but we still prefer to sort only relatively dry material.”

According to Herrala, the sorting of so-called multilayer textiles is still unsolved – the technology is currently reaching its limits at that point.

The solution: Specim FX17

With the InGaAs-based spectral camera FX17, SPECIM offers the perfect solution for a suitable sensor for classifying textiles. This camera works in the wavelength range from 900 to 1700 nm and, apart from a few synthetic black textiles such as black polyester or black nylon, completely covers the different spectral signatures of conventional fabrics.

Due to a special technical feature, the FX17 camera is also very flexible with regard to the recording speed: It offers users the option of selecting and evaluating from 224 wavelength bands and only use those that are particularly meaningful for the application at hand due to the material properties of the test object. The number of wavelengths used has a direct influence on the speed of the solution: the fewer wavelengths used, the faster the evaluation. This property is called Multi Region of Interest (MROI) and means with the FX17 that a recording speed of 670 lines per second can be achieved when using all 224 wavelength bands, however, with a reduction of wavelength bands, even thousands of lines per second are possible.

Another feature of the FX17 increases the reliability in the detection of different types of fabric by adjusting the camera configuration in terms of its spatial binning and to work with different resolutions, thus enabling statistical averaging of the measurement results in the camera, as Herrala explains: “Especially with textile detection, problems often occur with reflections or shadows, which can be caused by buttons, rivets or dirt when textiles are transported and differentiated on conveyor belts. If you do not use the results of individual measurement values for classification, but instead use the statistical average over the area examined, you will much more likely get the correct results. The FX17 offers this possibility.”

Thanks to other special features of the FX17 cameras, such as the excellent signal-to-noise ratio of 1000: 1 and high throughput, which leads to less light required to illuminate the test area, or higher sorting speeds, this camera has proven to be an excellent sensor for use in textile sorting.

Automated textile recycling

An automated solution to the task requires more than just a suitable sensor, but also a company that wants to bring the technology to market maturity. With the business development company Prizztech Ltd., Specim found such a partner. Prizztech is a non-profit organization, that coordinates Robocoast Digital Innovation HUB, the center of excellence for example in robotics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, IoT and circular economy in western Finland.

“One of our goals is to improve the competitiveness in our region, but on the other hand to spread the resulting innovative ideas and solutions internationally,” explains Essi Vanha-Viitakoski. She works as an advisor for Prizztech and first met Esko Herrala in the Committee for the Future. “The hyperspectral camera developed by SPECIM immediately convinced me of its many different uses. On the basis of our first conversation, we then carried out joint application tests for tasks in the food industry. After that, I was completely convinced of SPECIM´s professionalism and we decided to join forces to push the development of automated systems for textile recycling.”

Before this collaboration, neither Prizztech nor the Robocoast Digital Innovation Hub had dealt with the sorting of textile waste. They therefore commissioned a study on this subject, which was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The results mentioned therein confirmed the enormous potential, said Vanha-Viitakoskis: “A key statement of the study was that there are no ready-to-use solutions for sorting textiles worldwide, but the urgency to solve this task economically with the help of reliable automation will continue to increase in the future.”

These results were a further motivation for the project partners to drive the development of suitable technologies. With success, reports Esko Herrala: “The work has not yet been completed, but we do already know most of the possible sorting problems and what leads to success, both technically and economically. A large part of all textiles can be sorted automatically with the help of hyperspectral imaging and a suitable classification algorithm.”

“The Specim hyperspectral cameras in combination with the existing software and application know-how of everyone involved create new opportunities in the field of textile sorting and in general for the recycling industry to reduce environmental pollution”, confirms Essi Vanha-Viitakoski. “We are very proud that a technical solution to the global problem of textile recycling has been found in Finland.”

Rester Oy, which is developing the plant in Paimio, recycles companies’ end-of-life textiles, and Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto Oy (LSJH), which will hire a production area at the same facility, processes households’ end-of-life textiles. The plant will process 12,000 tonnes of end-of-life textiles every year, which represents about 10% of Finland’s textile waste.

About 100 million kilograms of textile waste are generated annually in Finland alone. Reusing this material could reduce the textile industry’s carbon footprint and significantly reduce the use of natural resources.

Rester Oy and LSJH will drive the textile sector towards a circular economy and begin processing textile waste as an industrial raw material. The Nordic countries’ first industrial end-of-textile refinement plant will open in Paimio in 2021. The 3,000-square-metre plant is being developed by Rester Oy, which recycles companies’ end-of-life textiles and industrial waste materials. LSJH, which processes households’ end-of-life textiles on its production line, will hire part of the plant.

The future plant will be able to process 12,000 tonnes of end-of-life textiles annually, which represents about 10% of Finland’s textile waste. Both production lines produce recycled fibre, which can be used for various industrial applications, including yarn and fabric, insulating materials for construction and shipping industries, acoustic panels, composites, non-woven and filter materials, and other technical textiles, such as geo-textiles.