The textile and apparel value chain is one of the most resource-intensive sectors, generating significant waste and relying heavily on a vulnerable workforce.

In recent years, businesses in this sector have adopted circular economy strategies to address sustainability challenges. However, most of these efforts focus on material efficiency and waste reduction, often neglecting social dimensions.

This PhD dissertation addresses this gap by exploring how to integrate social justice and equity into circular transitions at the business level. Through case studies in the Netherlands, Spain and India, it investigates how businesses can adopt circular practices inclusively and how policymakers can enable a more just circular transition.

The transition to a circular economy in the textile and apparel value chain is an opportunity to address the environmental challenges facing the industry. However, without a strong focus on social justice, this transition risks perpetuating poor working conditions, gender inequality and vulnerability for workers, particularly in low-wage, labour-intensive roles.

This policy brief identifies five key recommendations for policymakers:

• Align circular economy goals with just transition principles
• Identify and protect vulnerable populations
• Address income disparity and strengthen labour regulations
• Enhance participatory mechanisms and access to justice
• Implement restorative mechanisms and support reskilling initiatives

Europe’s green and digital transitions are increasing demand for CRMs, just as geopolitical risks and trade tensions are reshaping global supply chains. The EU has been taking steps to secure and diversify supplies by building strategic partnerships with resource-rich countries, which includes recovering CRMs from mine waste and tailings.

The Western Balkans region is a natural partner: they are integrated into EU markets and transport networks and have a legacy of old industrial sites and mine tailings.

This study recommends mapping mining waste, linking local actors more closely to EU instruments and initiatives, and using the EU accession process to advance regulatory and administrative alignment on mining, waste management and water protection with the EU acquis.

This report supports the implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation within the framework of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan 2.0.

Prepared by the Joint Research Centre for the Directorate-General for Environment, it draws on contributions from external contractors, over 25 000 EU citizens and more than 250 expert stakeholders. The study addresses the fragmentation of waste-sorting labels across Member States, a key barrier to efficient recycling and the functioning of the internal market.

The technical proposal sets out a harmonised system of waste-sorting labels for packaging and receptacles across the EU, geared to removing market barriers while ensuring that consumers receive clear, consistent and actionable sorting instructions.

Brazil’s mining sector has underpinned national growth and is a major global supplier of iron ore, bauxite, niobium and copper. However, the linear model is producing declining ore grades, rising waste volumes and growing environmental and social pressures.

To remain competitive, Brazil must shift to a circular model. Strategies such as reprocessing tailings, recovering by-products, designing for reuse and establishing closed-loop partnerships can unlock significant economic and environmental value.

This report looks at circular solutions being implemented in the mining sector and how designing urban renewable energy systems for reuse will turn cities into urban mines.

The EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles calls for policy interventions to reduce waste and overconsumption in this sector. However, future policies may have unintended impacts. 

This study examines the unintended effects of past and future textile policies, with the goal of evaluating scientific tools for improving ex ante impact assessments and so mitigating unintended effects in future.

It finds that the unintended impact of a policy can be just as important as the impact that it was designed to achieve. Stakeholder engagement, combined micro- and macro-economic modelling, extended consideration of the EU's resilience and the inclusion of a behavioural and social component are all key to reducing unintended impacts.

The textiles sector needs to become more circular, and traceability of components across the supply chain, transparency of information, and reliable data for circular business models are the cornerstones of this process.

The Delegated Act for Textiles under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is being prepared and will shape the Digital Product Passport in the textiles sector. The DPP must allow for the needs and capacities of actors throughout the supply chain in order to unlock circular business models and achieve the EU's environmental and social goals in the textile industry.

This policy brief gives an overview of the most pressing practical challenges facing these actors and provides actionable policy recommendations.

This report presents the key insights that emerged from the workshop on Re-Valuing resources: cross-sectoral circular solutions for a sustainable future.

It sets out how the eight participating EU projects enable cross-circularity through material reuse, digital tools and systemic approaches that intersect across industries, governance levels and territorial levels.

It then identifies the conditions that enable replication and scaling, drawing on real-world demonstrations and stakeholder experiences.

Lastly, it highlights the social, community and governance dimensions that underpin successful circular transitions, with a focus on participatory practices, long-term trust-building and multi-actor collaboration.

Every year, our global economy consumes around 100 billion tonnes of resources — three quarters of which it cannot replenish. This reliance on a constant flow of virgin raw materials leaves our economies increasingly exposed to price shocks, supply disruptions and the universal inefficiencies of resource waste. One direct way to relieve this pressure is to keep materials circulating at their highest value.