Femnet e.V.

The findings of this study can be used as evidence base to improve the knowledge of the effectiveness of recycling capabilities of textile waste. This study wants to substantiate the understanding of the existing technologies industrially applied or at research stage, which relate to all the different types of recycling (e.g. mechanical recycling, chemical monomer recycling, chemical polymer recycling, etc.). It also provides an analysis of the economic and environmental effectiveness of those recycling technologies and a roadmap of the textile recycling technologies under development in order to support their industrial uptake.

Finally, it also provides an analysis on relevant policy initiatives in order to tackle potential regulatory barriers and scale up textile waste recycling activities in the EU.

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Despite significant challenges in the fashion industry over the past few years due to Covid-19, we are encouraged by the number of brands using next-gen materials in their products. The number of fashion, automotive, and home goods brands interested in next-gen materials has increased along with the supply of next-gen materials. This market trend is not surprising given the increased consumer demand for animal-free and environmentally friendly products and the development of new technologies allowing for significant improvement in the aesthetics and performance of next-gen materials.

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Weltweit werden immer mehr Textilien produziert – mit gravierenden Folgen für die Umwelt. Ein möglicher Lösungsansatz: eine kreislauffähige Textilwirtschaft mit funktionierenden Recyclingprozessen und entsprechenden Infrastrukturen. Das Forschungsprojekt „DiTex - Digitale Technologien als Enabler einer ressourceneffizienten kreislauffähigen B2B-Textilwirtschaft“ erprobt im Charakter einer Machbarkeitsstudie eine kreislauffähige Textilwirtschaft im Geschäftskundensegment, d.h. im Bereich Business-to-Business (B2B). Dahinter steht die Einschätzung, dass bei Berufsbekleidung und Flachwäsche (Bettwaren, Handtücher) im gewerblichen Kontext enorme Volumina identischer Textilien im Umlauf sind und die Logistik über jeweils fixe Ausgabe- und Rücknahmepunkte in den einzelnen Einrichtungen gut organisiert und etabliert ist. Die Beteiligten in diesem Projektverbund erachten es in besonderem Maße für möglich, in dieser weitgehend geschlossenen B2B-Textilwirtschaft einen ressourceneffizienten ökologischen Materialeinsatz mit einem dienstleistungsbasierten und auf häufige Nutzungszyklen ausgerichteten Geschäftsmodell zu verbinden, das digitale Technologien smart nutzt. DiTex will dafür eine Erprobungsplattform sein.

Dieser Integrative Forschungsbericht (IB) stellt eine möglichst vollständige Ergebnisdokumentation der DiTex-Arbeiten nach zwei von insgesamt drei Jahren Vorhabenslaufzeit dar. Alle bis Sommer 2021 in den Arbeitspaketen (AP) 1 und 2 erzielten Recherche- und Prüfergebnisse werden in diesem Bericht dokumentiert, ausgewertet und interpretiert.

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Textiles and plastics are two of the key product value chains that are considered a priority in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan (EC, 2020a). As a result, the EEA has devoted specific attention to textiles and plastics in the circular economy, building the knowledge base on the textiles and plastics systems, their environmental and social impacts, and potential pathways to more sustainable and circular systems.

The briefing Textiles in Europe’s Circular Economy (EEA, 2019) and its underpinning ETC report Textiles and the environment in a circular economy (ETC/WMGE, 2019) highlighted the sector’s significant environmental impacts, ranking textiles as the fourth most significant in the use of primary raw materials and water – after food, housing and transport, and fifth for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study also highlighted that synthetic fibres have overtaken cotton in the production of clothing, household textiles and technical textiles.

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This study analyses the limiting impact of using a company size threshold in future due diligence and corporate accountability regulation in the Netherlands and the EU. Based on an analysis of the Dutch textiles and garment sector as a whole and the companies participating in the Dutch Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textiles (AGT), this study finds that any company size threshold would very strongly limit the number of companies covered by future due diligence legislation. If a high company size threshold, as currently applied in the French Duty of Vigilance Law and the German Supply Chain Law, were to be used in future Dutch and EU due diligence regulation, this would mean only a very limited number of companies would have to comply with mandatory due diligence obligations. In contrast, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), just like large enterprises, face severe risks in their value chains and can be directly linked or contribute to human rights violations or environmental damage.

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