Thread #3: Committing to five!
The first step towards textile circularity is to address the root cause: that we are consuming beyond the planet’s means. This week we’ve been discussing two reports that — each in their own way — highlight this issue.
First: dogfooding. We’re committing to buying no more than five items each in 2024.
G20 countries are the largest consumers — and largest producers of waste — in the world. Reducing our own climate footprint is urgently needed. In the world of textiles it’s as simple as this: we need to buy less clothes. And if we acquire something new, we should buy secondhand. In fact, according to the 2022 report from Hot and Cold Institute , people living in high-income countries should buy no more than five items per year. The Guardian’s Tiffanie Darke announced her plan to buy no more than five items in 2023 on social media, and thousands of women joined her in the challenge. The This week she reported back how it went. The Financial Times’ Fashion Editor Lauren Indvik did the same, which she talks about in this podcast
At TOMRA Textiles we’ve decided to eat our own dogfood, practice as we preach — and commit to buying no more than five items (each) in 2024. We’ll make sure to keep you updated on how we fare along the way.
Second: textile collection. It’s not as straightforward as it sounds.
By 1 January 2025, less than a year from now, the European Union will require its member states to establish systems for separate collection of textile waste. Some frontrunner markets have started implementing: Denmark started last summer, Sweden and Finland have decided to follow suit. Norway has so far not signaled any intention here, but an interesting trial project on textile collection presented its findings this week in an event by NF&TA, Mepex and Handelens Miljøfond. The report (in Norwegian) provides interesting insights on how collection systems could be designed to reduce the staggering 49,000 tonnes of textile waste that is thrown in mixed waste bins across Norway every year. Six municipalities have run different test projects with slightly different conditions: kerbside drop-offs, separate bags at home, or pick-up services. More trials and tests are required to find the best solutions, and yeah: one size does not fit all, it seems.
Third: beliefs. The key elements we think will enable circularity.
The textiles value chain is broken, global, and complex. In a world of uncertainties and unknowns, our business development, strategy and regulatory whiz kids have come together to outline the path forward for transforming textiles. They built their direction on four key beliefs enabling circularity. We’re looking forward to share our detailed thinking on textiles circularity in Go Circular’s upcoming webcast, with industry experts like McKinsey & Company’s Dunja Matanovic, Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems’s Cyndi Rhoades and our own Vibeke Siljan Krohn on the panel.
Four: reusing and recycling in Aarhus.
One of the major challenges in textile recycling is elastane. This is a non-uniform material that is hard to separate out from waste streams, especially when weaved into other materials (check your pants, they are likely to have 1–2% elastane in them). This week researchers at the University of Aarhus published an article describing a technology that helps separate elastane from nylon. The method entails heating the material to 225 degrees, adding an alcohol, and running the process for 4 hours. Separating elastane from cotton, however — as most of our jeans have — remains challenging.
Incidentally, and not connected in any other way than geographically — the people of Aarhus can now enjoy their takeaway coffee in reusable cups that can be deposited in any of the city center’s deposit return points. Tap your card or mobile, and the deposit is disbursed to your account. Daniela de Lorenzo wrote a nice article about this in Forbes this week.
Five: community building. Excited to attend the first TrashTech meetup!
This week also saw the (world’s first!) #TrashTech meetup, organized by Avfall Norge and Startuplab, with contributions from Øyvind Moen at Franzefoss AS , Peter S. Callister at Norsk Gjenvinning Renovasjon, Jon Lille-Schulstad at Ragn-Sells, Stian Halland at BIR, and Marianne Holen from Renovasjons- og gjenvinningsetaten — Oslo kommune, all moderated by Ulrikke Lien of Sensorita. As a tech company active in the recycling and collection space — as well as in the fashion and textiles space — with circular and sustainable solutions, we were excited to see the vibrant innovation scene already present in and around this important industry.
In other news this week, we note Prada Group’s 2024 campaign to promote its Re-Nylon products, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Watson. Products are made from a regenerated nylon yarn crafted from recycled and purified ocean plastics, including discarded fishing nets. The label has pledged to replace all virgin nylon with the regenerated material to help reduce ocean plastic waste and incorporate plastics from landfills and tactile fiber waste.
And lastly, a group of EMBA students from Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) are, as we speak, working to evaluate the Textiles strategy — and suggest an even sharper one. We’re looking forward to presentations Saturday at lunchtime. Have a great weekend!
So, we stick with five items in 2024? Game on!
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
