ISATIÓ was a Brussels SME that recovered samples from the textiles industry to create unique designer clothing, with manufacturing all done locally and the supply chain covered entirely by bicycle couriers.
The textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. The Next Closet’s mission is change this and inspire people to invest in quality and reuse what they already have, so second hand can become the number one choice.
The Policy Hub (founded in 2019) aims to promote circularity in the apparel and footwear industry and propose policies that accelerate sustainable practices. It represents over 700 stakeholders and has partner organisations:
It looks at each stage, focusing on ways to reduce the environmental impact and considering end of life. The Policy Hub seeks to encourage an ambitious policy framework to speed up the transformation of the apparel and footwear industry towards circularity. It focuses on:
The EU faces multiple challenges (climate crisis, environmental disasters, a lack of competitiveness, falling behind in the digital race, etc.) that it will need to address if it is to ensure long-term sustainable prosperity for European citizens. At the same time, there are two ongoing transitions – the creation of a circular economy and the digital transformation – that could provide the means to address these challenges, if they are managed well.
As the EU and national policymakers are making significant efforts to promote a circular economy on the one hand and a digital economy on the other, Annika Hedberg and Stefan Šipka, together with Johan Bjerkem, argue that it is time to align the agendas as a means to achieve greater sustainability and competitiveness.
To help inspire conversation and policy action concerning inclusive circular business models during the next EU Commission mandate, RREUSE invited EU decision makers to a closed site visit toLes Petits Riens, a Brussels-based social enterprise with activities dating back to 1937.
These factsheets outline circular economy opportunities to design out urban waste and pollution, ensure products and materials maintain their value, and regenerate the natural systems in our cities.
Easy-to-reference, the factsheets are a collation of research and case examples that answer some of the most prevalent questions around what circular economy can bring to cities:
Why is change in cities needed?
What circular economy opportunities address key urban system issues?
What can urban policymakers do to harness circular economy opportunities?
What are the potential economic, social, and environmental benefits of these opportunities?
Lena is the first fashion library of the Netherlands, where you can borrow clothing with a subscription, or buy through the try-before-you-buy principle. An endless wardrobe with the benefits of a fast changing wardrobe, placed in a sustainable context.
esosport was founded in 2009 by a small group of avid sports fans keen to find a better use for old sports shoes than simply throwing them away. They have proven that once they have exhausted their support and performance potential, recycled sport (and bike tyres!) shoes yield a secondary raw material which is very good for flooring in sports facilities.
Waste and pollution from the production of textiles and clothing have become critical global issues. The current ‘linear’ model is outdated and unsustainable. There is an urgent need for a strategy to transform industry into a circular model. A new report launched by Ecopreneur.eu, the European Sustainable Business Federation, calls for decisive policy measures to create an enabling framework.
Rifò regenerates noble textile fibres, such as cashmere, using a proven technology developed in the textile district of Prato (Tuscany) over a hundred years ago.
