Textiles and the environment: The role of design in Europe’s circular economy

Textiles and the Environment The role of design in Europe's circular economy

EEA
Type
Author
European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Use (ETC/CE) for the EEA (2021)
Publication Date
February, 2022
Country
EU
Language for original content
Key Area
Contact
Almut Reichel
Contact Details

Circular design is an important enabler of the transition towards sustainable production and consumption of textiles through circular business models. The design phase plays a critical role in each of the four pathways to achieving a circular textile sector:

  1. longevity and durability
  2. optimised resource use
  3. collection and reuse
  4. recycling and material use.

This briefing aims to improve our understanding of the environmental and climate impacts of textiles from a European perspective and to identify design principles and measures to increase circularity in textiles. It is underpinned by a report from the EEA's European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Use available here.