Katharina Kölbl

The European Parliament has officially passed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation that fundamentally shifts the responsibility for textile waste management to fashion brands and retailers – with far-reaching global implications. This new law requires all producers, including e-commerce platforms, to cover the full cost of collecting, sorting, and recycling textiles, regardless of whether they are based within or outside the EU. The financial burden of Europe's textile waste now falls squarely on the brands that create it. What are the critical business implications? UNIVERSAL SCOPE: The legislation applies to all producers selling in the EU market, including those of clothing, accessories, footwear, home textiles, and curtains. No company is exempt based on location. FAST FASHION PENALTY: Member states must specifically address ultra-fast and fast fashion practices when determining EPR financial contributions, creating cost penalties for unsustainable business models. GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION: As the world's largest textile importer, the EU's new rules will ripple across global supply chains, particularly impacting exporters from Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, and India who supply much of Europe's fast fashion. TIMELINE PRESSURE: Officially adopted September 2025, this creates immediate operational and financial planning requirements. COMPETITIVE RESHAPING: Brands and retailers will inevitably pass increased costs down their supply chains, fundamentally altering supplier relationships and pricing structures globally. What are the implications for various stakeholders? For CEOs and board members: This represents more than regulatory compliance – it's a complete business model transformation. Companies must now integrate end-of-life costs into product pricing, rethink supplier partnerships, and accelerate circular design strategies. For sustainability and decarbonisation executives: This creates unprecedented opportunities for circular economy solutions, sustainable material innovation, and traceability system development across global supply chains. Link: https://lnkd.in/dTyHtHuD #sustainablefashion #circulareconomy #textilwaste #epr #fashionindustry #sustainability #supplychainmanagement #fastfashion #environmentalregulation #businessstrategy #decarbonisation #textilerecycling #fashionceos #boardgovernance #climateaction #wastemanagement #producerresponsibility #fashionsustainability #textileindustry #greenbusiness

1.944

71 commenti

What really happens to clothes after we no longer want them? This three-part podcast takes you behind the scenes of the global textile chain. Join Circle Economy's Hilde van Duijn and journalist Dore van Duivenbode and industry experts as they unpack the challenges, hidden realities, and promising solutions for textile waste. We need all voices, brands, sorters, innovators, communities, to co-create systemic change. These aren’t just environmental questions, they’re questions of labor, land, and livelihood. True change begins when we begin listening to every voice in the chain. Podcast produced by BlueCity (010) 🎧 Listen now: https://lnkd.in/gCdUBE2m

85

NATURAL FIBRES INSIGHT, AUTUMN 2025 IS LIVE: Delighted to share that the new issue of Natural Fibres Insight is out now, hosted on www.apparelinsider.com This edition is packed with rigorous, timely reporting for sustainability teams, buyers and policy experts across fashion. Our cover story looks at new science on wool’s biogenic carbon loop, explaining how soils affect climate impact. We go farm to fabric with South African mohair, exploring stewardship, traceability and a sharpened global positioning for this heritage fibre. On cotton, we look at a systematic review of LCAs that exposes how methods, regions and functional units can impact results, and what that means for sustainability claims. We also look at evidence that regenerative agriculture can support farmer wellbeing, if we get the support structures right. Plus: the launch of GRTS from Global Standard (building on GOTS), advances in poly-cotton separation from RE&UP, fresh natural fibre stats, policy shifts and more. Have a read, share with your teams, and tell us what you want to see next. #NaturalFibres #Wool #Cotton #Mohair #Textiles #ApparelInsider

80

8 commenti

♻️ (Re)made in Italy – How a centuries-old industrial district is becoming a model for Europe’s circular economy. Fast fashion creates mountains of waste, but what if textiles could be truly circular? Comune di Prato is a leading European textile district with a rich history of innovation in recycling and the circular economy! From 19th-century recycled fabrics to today's regenerated fibres. Nearly half the world's export of carded woollens comes from Prato, making it “one of the most important production hubs in Europe and worldwide for the textile and clothing supply chain,” according to the city! They are proving that sustainable textiles isn't just a dream 🧶 In May, the Net Zero District project was officially launched. It is supported by fellow Italian cities of Comune di Bergamo, Comune di Parma, and Roma Capitale and part of the EU Cities Mission Enabling City Transformation programme. While the current practice of selecting and treating post-consumer textile waste by hand holds back circular economy goals, a planned innovative new plant could:  - Support mechanical recycling and precise classification of fabrics by fibre type and colour, - Collect 20,000 tonnes per year of post-consumer textile waste regionally and 13,000 of pre-consumer textile waste (around 50% of the area’s production), - Install advanced automatic sorting technologies based on Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy,  - Have the capacity to sort up to four tonnes per hour. 🌍 A cooperation agreement between the City of Prato and the Tuscany Region, signed at the Prato Textile Days (27-28 May) to establish a permanent textile district presence in Brussels, will allow Prato to contribute to shaping European policy on eco-design, the digital product passport, and end-of-life textile regulation.  Through collaborative governance and deep industrial knowledge, Prato is not just preparing for the green industrial transition but shaping it. From archival yarns safety e-learning platforms, the district is weaving together a future where circularity, productivity, and sustainability are one fabric. ➡️ Learn how Prato is weaving a sustainable future for textiles and shaping EU policy: https://lnkd.in/edzrajHW #MissionCities #EUMissions #HorizonEU

26

1 commento

Circularity Index ≠ One-Size-Fits-All for Apparel As fashion pushes toward a circular economy, many brands ask: “How do we measure circularity?” The answer: there isn’t just one metric. Different tools capture different pieces of the loop. 👕 Ellen MacArthur – Circulytics™ Organisation-wide “readiness & outcomes” score (A–E). Ideal for assessing how well your business model keeps textiles and trims in circulation. 🧵 Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) A 0–1 product-level score for recycled content, recyclability, and lifetime—perfect for a single garment, from denim to outerwear. ✨ Cradle to Cradle Certified® (C2C) Independent product certification covering material health, renewable energy, water stewardship, and social fairness—strong proof for a specific collection. 👗 Circular Fashion Index (CFI) Built for fashion brands. Benchmarks resale, rental, repair, and recycled fibres to compare progress across the industry. 🌍 Circle Economy / Circle Scan System-level mapping of material flows across cities or supply chains—valuable for multi-brand collaborations and regional sourcing hubs. Making the best of these methodologies: • Scope matters: Circulytics evaluates the organisation, MCI & C2C assess the product, CFI scores the brand. • Metric type varies: letter grades, 0–1 scores, or certification tiers—choose based on whether you’re informing investors, buyers, or internal teams. • Best practice: combine them.  → Use MCI to guide garment design.  → Pursue C2C for third-party product validation.  → Report through Circulytics or CFI to show brand-wide progress. Circular fashion is multi-dimensional. Measuring it from every angle—design, supply chain, and business model—is how we close the loop. #CircularFashion #SustainableApparel #Textiles #CircularEconomy #ESG #Innovation #Denim #FashionIndustry

152

10 commenti