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The production of low-cost textiles has made it possible to democratize fashion and make it accessible to the vast majority of the population, extending the aforementioned benefits to sectors of society for which it was not accessible a few years ago.
This sector is one of the largest consumers of resources in the world, with a huge environmental and climate impact
The textile industry has been identified as a major contributor to the emission of plastic microfibers reaching the ocean, through the process of washing plastic-based textiles such as polyester, nylon, or acrylic.
In addition, the social impact of the textile industry is also very negative, due to the inadequate working conditions that exist in some industries in the sector in some countries.
Continuing with this economic system puts the industry itself at risk, which has led major companies in the sector to take an interest in increasing the sustainability of the textile sector and contributing to its transition to a circular economy.
The world sells 100 billion pieces of clothing every year, between 2000 and 2014 its production doubled.
After food, housing and transportation, global textile consumption is the fourth largest demand for raw materials and water and the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
It is estimated that less than 1% of all textiles in the world are recycled to become new textiles. 990,000 t / year of textile products are estimated to end up in landfills in Spain. It is currently estimated that in Catalonia each person consumes between 21.5 and 26 kg of clothing per year and only 12% of textile waste is collected selectively. This means that the vast majority, a total of 140,000 t / year, are incinerated or dumped in landfills. Of the part that is collected selectively, half is prepared for reuse and 40% is recycled.
Textile waste has become a global problem. In the last 15 years, the number of pieces sold worldwide has doubled and their useful life has been reduced by about 20%. By contrast, reuse and recycling have not increased at the same rate, largely because textiles are not usually designed for this purpose. It is estimated that less than 1% of the world's clothing is recycled into new products. After food, housing and transportation, global textile consumption is the fourth largest demand for raw materials and water, and the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Catalonia has historically been characterized by an important textile industry that has long been investing in sustainability as an opportunity. It currently stands out in Europe for its great potential for the use of textile waste, as it has a long tradition of factories using recycled materials in their production.
The fight against climate change is affecting the textile industry.
The future Waste Act, which is expected to come into force in the first quarter of 2022, will ban the textile sector from destroying fabrics and force the reuse of textile waste by paying an 'eco-tax' to pollute less. The summit on climate change, COP26, in Glasgow, has highlighted the fact that fossil fuels are the most polluting to the environment.
Fashion in Spain had so far been exempt from ecological obligations and had managed to stay out of the focus of regulation. But now the future Contaminated Waste and Soil Act, which is scheduled to be passed in the first quarter of 2022, could revolutionize the textile industry.
In this way, textile companies will not be able to destroy the clothes they have not been able to sell and will have to pay to recycle the clothes they throw in the trash. That is, the procedure would be very similar to what is done today with glass containers.
There is an urgent need to make profound changes in the production and consumption model of the textile sector, and to move towards a circular, more sustainable and regenerative model for the planet.
In addition to a growing demand from consumers for sustainable products, various initiatives, both public and private, are advanced to encourage a change of model with various solutions to the most pressing social and environmental problems of textiles.
New regulations in favor of change
There is a regulatory trend at European, state and Catalan level that promotes the sustainable transformation of the textile sector towards the circular economy.
All the new regulations have set short, medium and long-term goals that will not be achieved without significant change by all actors.
At a time when decisive measures are being defined to curb the impact of the climate crisis and advance the circular economy, the Generalitat is promoting the Pact for Circular Fashion from the Departments of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda , and of Business and Work, a voluntary agreement that favors an urgent and necessary transformation of the textile from our territory, in a voluntary, shared and collaborative way, establishing common objectives and generating instruments that make this change possible and achieve its deployment. from 2022.
The initiative is part of the European Interreg Europe CircE project This sectoral initiative is one of the pilot circular economy actions chosen by the European Union within the Interreg Europe CircE project due to its innovative nature and potential for replicability in other territories. It will be possible to monitor the progress of the Pact through the Catalunya Circular platform, the hub that brings together all the initiatives of companies and institutions that provide innovative solutions and strategies to consolidate the circular economy in Catalonia.
Organizations acceding to the Pact will have to make certain general commitments. Specifically, reduce the generation of textile waste by 5 to 10%; achieve between 25 and 30% in the selective collection of this fraction; and increase the percentage of material valuation of the part collected selectively. Specifically, between 55% and 60% will be used for preparation for reuse and between 40 and 50% for the recycling of textile waste.
The Pact has emerged as a turning point in advancing the textile sector towards circularity, with the involvement and collaboration of all the links in its value chain. A good example of this will are the first 31 agents driving the Pact, which include manufacturing, distribution and marketing companies, employers and sector associations, waste managers, technology and academic centers, administrations and third sector entities.
Objectives of the pact
The general objectives
-Significant reduction in the generation of textile waste and the increase in the percentage of selective collection and recovery of this waste, both preparation for reuse and recycling.
Specific objectives for the different segments of the textile value chain.
- In the field of manufacturing, increase the durability of products and the percentage of recycled material incorporated into new products, reduce and eliminate the use of harmful materials, increase reuse with the implementation of new business models, deploy production strategies cleaner and more efficient, innovate in materials and technologies, promote circular design, to facilitate the transition to a climate-neutral economy model, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda
To achieve these ambitious goals, work is already underway to define pilot projects in certain territories to promote the collection of second-hand clothes and their reuse, as well as to improve the selective collection systems for textile waste and local recycling.
A necessary transformation
We are at a key moment when we need to make urgent and profound changes in the model of production and consumption of the textile sector, and necessarily move towards a circular model, more sustainable and regenerative for the planet.
There is a global, European, state and local context that favors this transformation towards circularity: society demands a change in the model in the short term, aggravated by the climate and health crisis. This pushes textile companies to transform the sector.
The next few years will be circular or not and not only do consumers know that we have a lot of power, whether to buy or not to buy and how to do it according to how and how. No doubt brands are becoming more and more likely to apply technology to better match their supply to demand, ensuring fewer unsold garments.