
Digital Version Only - Hard Copy sold out
Published in 2015, Closing the Loop is an independent report and technical guide on how brands and retailers can 'close the loop' when it comes to sustainability in the global textile industry. The new report is an industry first for the textile sector.
This unique 100 page report guides brands and retailers through the challenges – technical, financial, logistical – that the textile industry faces as it seeks to move towards more circular ways of working.
The report also includes expert input from Dutch-based Circle Economy, Worn Again, I:CO, Mistra, ICAC, Nick Morley and WRAP as well as brands such as Nike, Inditex, Teijin, Puma, Timberland, G-Star, Fast Retailing, Lindex and Lidl.
What does it cover?
– The technical challenges involved in textile recycling, particularly the chemical recycling of mixed (cotton and polyester) fibres. New developments in cellulosic fibre recycling where significant technological progress has been made in recent years.
– Global mega-trends (population growth, great focus on sustainability issues), increased global fibre consumption and how a finite cotton supply are all contributing to the global 'fibre gap'.
– Recycling for synthetic, man-made fibres, including current developments at organisations such as Teijin and Toray who use chemical recycling to produce new polyester yarns.
– Facts and figures on current global fibre volumes, including recycled fibres.
– Clothing take-back schemes such as I:CO. We will look at how such schemes work on a practical level whether they make commercial and financial sense for brands.
– Blue-sky thinking and future technology developments in textile recycling and implications for brands.
– Legislative issues and how they will impact the textile recycling market (eg Extended Producer Responsibility legislation)
The report is essential reading for apparel brands, retailers, textiles mills and fibres suppliers who want to gain a unique insight into what closing the production loop means for the global textile industry – and how it will impact their businesses in future.