This working paper, prepared by the ILO, looks at the future of work in textiles, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) industries.

It explores how technological advances, climate change, globalisation and changing demographics will shape these industries. It then analyses how these challenges and opportunities will impact decent work, and looks at the future of TCLF production in three categories of countries (least developed, middle income and high income). It concludes that at the present rate, the TCLF industries will not move to a circular economy approach for years.

The EU Ecolabel is the official European Union label for environmental excellence.

It is awarded to sustainably-designed products, thereby encouraging innovation, and contributing to the EU’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and to the circular economy.

Industry can use the EU Ecolabel to offer consumers an eco-friendly alternative to conventional products and help them lower their daily environmental impact.

Ambitious criteria have been set, focusing on the main environmental impacts generated over the lifecycle of these products. This ensures that EU Ecolabel hard covering products are among the best on the market in terms of environmental performance.

Access the full list of EU Ecolabel criteria for hard coverings products here.

The Third Circular Economy Report (2021) by the Circular Economy Network and ENEA, besides providing the updated analysis on circular economy in Italy as compared to the main EU countries, includes a focus on the role of circular economy in the transition towards climate neutrality, as well as an update on the most important measures implemented at the national and European levels.

This report updates the analysis on the state of circular economy in Italy, assessing the results achieved in the areas of production, consumption, circular waste management, as well as investments and employment in recycling, repairing and reuse, with a comparison among the main economies in the EU: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland.

To read the report in full (in Italian), please click here.

In this report, nudging is explored as a complement to traditional policies (regulation, economic incentives and information campaigns) to reduce the use of single-use plastics. Behavioural insights are used to develop different options to nudge consumer preferences from single-use cups to more sustainable alternatives.

Based on careful reviews and analysis of previous nudging projects, three green nudges are proposed to catalyze this shift.

This report examines the relevant literature on behaviour change, psychology and environmental issues to learn which strategies can be effective – and which might be counterproductive – when it comes to shifting people’s actions around plastic. 

The aim is to radically alter patterns of consumption and production so that Sweden becomes the world’s first fossil-fuel free welfare state. The use of plastic will play an important part in the strategy.

From the review of scholarly articles, media reports and surveys of the public, a number of recommendations emerge that can be put to use by anyone creating a campaign about plastic use.

Industry faces major challenges with regard to handling the transition to an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As yet, we are far from fully understanding the potential wider environmental impacts of this transformation. Furthermore, we are largely unaware of the untapped potential of industrial facilities in sectors covered by the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) to contribute to the circular economy.

The study aimed to provide an initial overview of the potential wider environmental impacts of industry's transition within the scope of the IED to a low carbon economy, and to gain a better understanding of how IED facilities could contribute to a circular economy.

The Circular Economy and Society Hub of Utrecht University has prepared a white paper analysing the key strengths and weaknesses of the way in which Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is organised in the Netherlands. Based on this analysis, it then sets out three pathways for improving EPR with a view to enabling it to contribute to the circular economy goals:

1. Optimising EPR as an instrument for post-user circularity
2. Re-designing EPR as an instrument for circular economy transformations
3. Beyond EPR: other means of support.

Across the world, cluster organisations have taken a leading role in the green transition. Cluster Excellence Denmark recently released a new e-book titled Towards a New Greener Normal – How Clusters are Dealing with Circular Transition in Times of COVID-19, exploring how this work has continued despite the current pandemic.

The e-book contains informative insights into how clusters are integrating the green transition and digitalisation, leading to brand new and innovative solutions with market potential.

IVA – the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences – set up, in 2016, the project “Resource Efficient Business Models – Greater Competitiveness”, which resulted in a report presenting analyses and conclusions in five sectoral reports:

1. input goods
2. infrastructure
3. capital goods and durables
4. consumer products and
5. food.

Among its proposals, it suggests solutions for a sustainable usage of plastic for a more resource-efficient food chain, with an emphasis on circular flows. It also provides perspectives from companies in the infrastructure sector. Moreover, it presents its vision for mapping of resource flows, optimal use of infrastructure and other resource-efficient solutions, including aiming at increased use of recycled materials and the reuse of products.

In 2015, the European Commission adopted the Circular Economy Action Plan to help stimulate the transition towards circular economy. The growing number of plastic products and packaging marketed as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘(home) compostable’ raises the question of the extent to which biodegradability and compostability of plastic is beneficial in the context of the transition towards a circular economy.

The study assesses this question, identifying conditions in which (home) compostability of products could be of added value, compared to reuse and other forms of recovery. The results indicate weak evidence in favour of beneficial agronomics associated with compostable plastic material. Choices of materials for products and packaging should prioritise recyclability over compostability.