Curtains, bedlinen, pillow sheets, clothing, these are some examples of textile products that are produced to use and then thrown away. Makes sense, factories work in a linear system – a colbert is often not designed to recycle. After use it ends up on a pile of textiles. A pile that will be burned so it at least generates energy. I – and with me more textile companies – am convinced we can do better. We are able to reuse materials. And we can make the linear system into a circular one. With these five possibilities we close the textile loop. |
1. Buy recycled content instead of virgin
It may seem obvious, but as a textile producer your added value starts with purchasing materials. Recycled material is the best option. Of course, this is not possible with all materials yet, some certainly have quality issues. But every step you can take is a good one. When a buyer asks for recycled material, suppliers notice the increase of demand. On their turn they are more likely to alter their supply towards more recycled materials and further develop the quality of these materials. An ancient economic law that also works when making the textile sector circular.
2. Design for disassembly and recycling
While designing most product-designers do not consider the reuse of materials after product-life. In other words: they design fantastic t-shirts and dresses in a fast pace, but do not have enough time and capacity to really diverge from the processes that became the standard. Moreover, the current supply chain and system are not equipped for the reuse of materials, that is why designers are not stimulated to design differently. If we want to design for repurpose or recycling – necessary for a closed loop – than I call upon product-designers that are intrinsically motivated to pick up the topic. And consider the reuse and recycling of materials after product-use in the design phase. An extra tip: go to a sorting facility and ask them which design changes they need in order to simplify sorting and recycling.
3. Count people and planet costs in the price of your product.
Many textile producers choose for virgin materials in their products. Most important reason? It is, at this point, cheaper than recycled material. And the reason they can keep their sale prices low. At MVO Netherland we advocate using the true price. In other words: a price that incorporates the effects on people and planet. From CO2 emissions that are caused by producing until the hour rate of employees in a cottonfield. The result? Virgin materials become more expensive and recycled content becomes a financially good alternative. Which on its turn causes fair competition. Would you like to know the true price and impact of your textile? Take a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
4. Make a good textile collection system
The system with collecting bins in Dutch residential areas works but is under pressure. For the consumer it is not clear what can be collected. Fact is that the bins are outside and are not sealed, this causes people to throw in other stuff too. Is the paper bin next to it full? Then they throw the old newspapers with the textiles. And that is just a clean example, what about paint buckets or food leftovers. In short: it lacks a quality check on collecting textiles. When collection points are at shops it goes better. Shop employees check the textiles that come into the shop. When textiles come back in a higher quality more can be reused. But it is also important that we collect all sorts of textile for recycling, included the torn ones. Otherwise they end up burned and that is a waste of materials.
5. Show which chemical substances are in the recycled material
To gain trust with textile buyers it is important to give insight in the chemical substances that are used in a recycled material. The machine that currently sorts out textiles does that on composition – cotton or polyester – and colour, but not on chemical substances. That is difficult. Because if a product of recycled material is worn on the skin it has different requirements than when you use it as a rug on the floor. Many organisations do not want to take the risk of having unknown chemical substances in a material and therefore choose for virgin material.
As you see not all my points can be implemented directly. They ask for collaboration on a sector level and maybe even a change in the law. I am convinced that we need to work together. Therefore we have the textiles network at MVO Nederland, in which we work on high quality reuse of textiles and transparency in the supply chain. Would you like to participate? Contact MVO Nederland
It may seem obvious, but as a textile producer your added value starts with purchasing materials. Recycled material is the best option. Of course, this is not possible with all materials yet, some certainly have quality issues. But every step you can take is a good one. When a buyer asks for recycled material, suppliers notice the increase of demand. On their turn they are more likely to alter their supply towards more recycled materials and further develop the quality of these materials. An ancient economic law that also works when making the textile sector circular.
2. Design for disassembly and recycling
While designing most product-designers do not consider the reuse of materials after product-life. In other words: they design fantastic t-shirts and dresses in a fast pace, but do not have enough time and capacity to really diverge from the processes that became the standard. Moreover, the current supply chain and system are not equipped for the reuse of materials, that is why designers are not stimulated to design differently. If we want to design for repurpose or recycling – necessary for a closed loop – than I call upon product-designers that are intrinsically motivated to pick up the topic. And consider the reuse and recycling of materials after product-use in the design phase. An extra tip: go to a sorting facility and ask them which design changes they need in order to simplify sorting and recycling.
3. Count people and planet costs in the price of your product.
Many textile producers choose for virgin materials in their products. Most important reason? It is, at this point, cheaper than recycled material. And the reason they can keep their sale prices low. At MVO Netherland we advocate using the true price. In other words: a price that incorporates the effects on people and planet. From CO2 emissions that are caused by producing until the hour rate of employees in a cottonfield. The result? Virgin materials become more expensive and recycled content becomes a financially good alternative. Which on its turn causes fair competition. Would you like to know the true price and impact of your textile? Take a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
4. Make a good textile collection system
The system with collecting bins in Dutch residential areas works but is under pressure. For the consumer it is not clear what can be collected. Fact is that the bins are outside and are not sealed, this causes people to throw in other stuff too. Is the paper bin next to it full? Then they throw the old newspapers with the textiles. And that is just a clean example, what about paint buckets or food leftovers. In short: it lacks a quality check on collecting textiles. When collection points are at shops it goes better. Shop employees check the textiles that come into the shop. When textiles come back in a higher quality more can be reused. But it is also important that we collect all sorts of textile for recycling, included the torn ones. Otherwise they end up burned and that is a waste of materials.
5. Show which chemical substances are in the recycled material
To gain trust with textile buyers it is important to give insight in the chemical substances that are used in a recycled material. The machine that currently sorts out textiles does that on composition – cotton or polyester – and colour, but not on chemical substances. That is difficult. Because if a product of recycled material is worn on the skin it has different requirements than when you use it as a rug on the floor. Many organisations do not want to take the risk of having unknown chemical substances in a material and therefore choose for virgin material.
As you see not all my points can be implemented directly. They ask for collaboration on a sector level and maybe even a change in the law. I am convinced that we need to work together. Therefore we have the textiles network at MVO Nederland, in which we work on high quality reuse of textiles and transparency in the supply chain. Would you like to participate? Contact MVO Nederland