24 Oct 2019
The r2pi project will hold its final conference in Brussels on 24 October 2019 to present its findings on drivers and barriers to circular business models.
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Textiles, apparel and leather
01 Oct 2019
Join the R2pi consortium for a workshop in Circular Economy in Plastics/Packaging, Electronics and Textiles Workshop on 1 Oct 2019 in Cologne
Globe Hope: a pioneer in upcycled textiles since 2003
Globe Hope, a Finnish textiles and cosmetics SME, has been creating bags and accessories from recycled and leftover materials since 2003.
09 Oct 2019
Join ACR+, Twente (NL) and Cleantech Region for a workshop dedicated to textiles, electronics and organic waste during the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels on 9 October 2019.
The Next Closet sells second hand designer fashion online
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.
RePack's reusable and returnable packaging combines end-of-life guarantee with social economy
RePack is the easiest way to implement circular economy in eCommerce. Using reusable and returnable RePack packaging service means sustainability in every package.
The reusable RePack bags are and made of durable and recycled materials and come in three adjustable sizes. They replace single-use packaging as the customer chooses RePack as the mean of package for delivery from the webstore. Once empty, the RePacks are designed to fold into letter size and can be returned to a postbox, free of charge, anywhere in the world. A voucher is sent to thank the customer for the return. This is the circular economy in action.
Wolkat - a family business closing the loop on textile recycling
Wolkat is an international group of seven innovative textile recycling companies. It was founded as a family business in 1948.
Today Wolkat is offering a complete circular solution for textiles. Collected textile is transformed in-house to new products for fashion, car or furniture industry. Sorting, recycling, spinning and weaving is all done in-house. All collected textile is transformed into a final product with hardly any water or any dye, leaving only 4-5 % waste from all textiles. The rest is new raw material.
26 Aug 2019
To address the gap on behaviour change for the circular economy, the CSCP, Sitra and DBU have set up the Consumer Insight Action Panel, a new European multi-stakeholder initiative designed to support the transition to the circular economy by generating, applying and testing consumer behavioural insights in circular strategies for textiles, plastics and electronics. How might we innovate to enable people to reuse, repair, share, recycle, lease or use differently? Find out with us!
30 Sep 2019
The conference Sustainable Consumption for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Worldwide will take place on 30 September in Berlin.
Policy Hub on Circular Economy in Apparel and Footwear
Circularity is a necessary solution to minimise the use of finite resources, but it requires a unified approach. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) have launched a Policy Hub on Circular Economy to ensure collaboration among industry partners.
Together these organisations will kick-off the development of an impactful and effective policy framework. The C&A Foundation will fund the project throughout 2020.
The Hub seeks to promote and demonstrate the value of a European policy framework that accelerates circular economy in the apparel, footwear, and textile industry. The Policy Hub will collaborate with a range of initiatives and stakeholders to support the industry in closing the loop of their business practices.
06 Nov 2019 to 07 Nov 2019
Discover the final results of the three-year long URBANREC project by joining project partners on 6 November in Brussels for a morning session of policy dialogue in the European Parliament.
Karun upcycles harmful waste into high quality sunglasses
Karün is a Swedish-Chilean company producing sunglass frames entirely from discarded fishing nets and jeans, collected in Patagonia.
Giovanardi - Sara Selmin
Raytent is a green economy project based on the recycling of acrylic fabric deriving from the awning industry, designed to create high quality yarns for the world of furnishing, sun protection, fashion and industry.
Creating a Digital Roadmap for a Circular Economy
Creating a Digital Roadmap for a Circular Economy
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.
This publication:
- demonstrates what digitalisation means in the context of a circular economy;
- considers what a greater focus on sustainability would mean for the digital transition;
- examines the role of the EU policy framework, tools and initiatives in steering a (digital) transition towards a (digital) circular economy and makes recommendations for EU institutions for the next five year.
It suggests that the EU must:
- think systemically, define a vision and act;
- provide an adequate governance framework and economic incentives for a (digital) transition to a (digital) circular economy;
- encourage collaboration across European society and economy as well as globally, and empower its citizens to contribute to the transition.
This Discussion Paper builds on the findings of the EPC’s "Digital Roadmap for a Circular Economy" project of 2017-19 and paves the way for a more extensive final study, scheduled to be published in the late autumn of 2019.
The project has been supported by Aalto University and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) (members of Helsinki EU Office), Central Denmark region, Climate-KIC, the Estonian Ministry of the Environment, Estonian Environment Investment Centre, HP, Orgalim, the province of Limburg, UL, Fondazione Cariplo and Cariplo Factory.
Raytent: high-quality yarns and fabrics made from solar tents industry cut-offs
Giovanardi recycles technical acrylic textiles from solar protection industry, to create the Raytent line of high-quality yarns and fabrics.
02 Jul 2019 to 03 Jul 2019
The 2019 edition of the International Stewardship forum is co-organized in Paris by DASTRI and the GlobalPSC with the following objectives:
- sharing the experience of different countries regarding the implementation and development of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Product Stewardship (PS) schemes
- thinking about how to create value beyond the end-of-life management of products
- initiating a prospective reflection on the future of these EPR schemes.
21 Jun 2019
The call for interest to become a club member of the Consumer Insight Action Panel on circular economy is now open – express your interest today!
Circular Economy in Cities - Factsheets - Urban Products System Summary
Circular economy in cities - Products factsheets
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?
The whole collection of factsheets, by system and phase, is available on the Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation website.
Consumer Insight Action Panel
Abstract:
The Consumer Insight Action Panel is a two-year initiative jointly set up by the CSCP and Sitra, as part of their contribution to the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Coordination Group.
Its objective is to translate consumer needs and behavioural knowledge into impact-oriented activities, initiatives and recommendations, to guide and support policy makers, business and civil society organisations in enabling consumer-relevant circular economy strategies.