We're buying more clothes, but wearing them less before getting rid of them, and as a result textile waste has continued to increase over the past five to ten years.
During 2022, 16kg of textiles waste was generated per person in the European Union, of which 29% was collected separately for reuse and recycling, while 71% ended up in mixed household waste that is either incinerated or landfilled. Of the textiles that were collected separately, 74% was recycled and 26% was incinerated or sent to landfill.
With a view to advancing circularity in textiles, making better use of resources and keeping materials in circulation for longer, Cefic brought together more than 80 experts and representatives from across the textile value chain. The resulting report: Circularity in Textiles through Value Network Collaboration, examines how circularity in textiles can be advanced through recycling and bio-based technologies, product design, and alternative business models. Cefic said that progress depends on better design, enabling policy, more investment and closer cooperation across the textile value chain.
The report also highlights the barriers that continue to challenge the transition towards more circular textiles. These barriers include fragmented requirements, limited transparency, insufficient infrastructure and economic challenges linked to the higher costs of recycled and bio-based manmade fibres compared with virgin materials.
Stakeholders from across the value chain contributing the workshops included raw material extractors: BP, ExxonMobil and The Woolmark Company, along with polymer and additive producers BASF, Dow, Dupont and Huntsman, fibre and fabric producers Clariant and RDD Textiles and recyclers Boer Group and Veolia.
“With both open and closed loop recycling being needed to transition to a fully-fledged circular economy, circular value networks require a collaborative approach to value creation, where the interests of multiple actors involved in different value chains are aligned to keep resources in the loop,” the report says.
Among the findings set out in Cefic’s report was the need to create certainty in demand for recycled fibres and recycled content, with targets in legislation the key. In addition, Green Public Procurement criteria could increase demand for recycled fibres. “Secured offtake agreements play an important role in uptake of textile waste as feedstock. Clear targets are therefore essential to de-risk investments and scale recycling infrastructures,” the report says. “Incentives must raise industry ambition and align investment, policy and demand to create an economic environment that supports circular business models. Circular products must become not only environmentally beneficial, but also economically viable,” the report adds.
Across the recycling process, the report highlighted that a lack of transparency means that recyclers are postponing investment while awaiting legislation, harmonised schemes and clarity on national sorting and recycling capacities.
The report also stresses the need for greater understanding of chemical requirements to address substances of concern that might be present in the waste textile stream. “Requirements for substances of concern in virgin and recycled textiles either produced in Europe or imported should be fully harmonised where relevant with existing regulatory frameworks (REACH, CLP, POP etc),” the report says. These issues are compounded by limited sorting technologies, which is a largely manual process, though automated sorting technologies are emerging.
Going forward, increasing use of biomass-derived content is noted as one of the solutions not only to support sustainable textile sector but also support Europe’s industrial growth and reach climate goals. “Create lead markets for biomass-derived materials with clear demand-side measures such as targets for biomass derived synthetic fibres with sustainability safeguards, which accelerate adoption and give investors certainty,” Cefic’s report says.
There is also a push to incentivise the durability of textiles. “Integrating durability requirements into Ecodesign for Sustainable Regulation could be a powerful lever to ensure that only products designed for longevity are place on the EU market,” the report adds.
The need to deal with waste textiles also includes rethinking existing business models. One of the models put forward by the report is the leasing of textile fibres. “How could the chemical sector explore leasing textile materials as a business model? Could polyester or polyamide remain the property of the chemical manufacturer, while brand owners receive a fee for the value they add and customers pay to use the textile product? The material could then easily be returned to the manufacturer for remanufacturing or recycling," the report said.
A comparison was made with the return of reusable and recyclable glass bottles in Germany, where consumers bring bottles back and receive a deposit.
Further reading:
- Fashion disaster: Why it's time to tackle textile waste
- Tackling the textile waste avalanche
- Sustainability and use of chemicals in textiles in the spotlight
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