Project properties
Title Sustainable circular textile value chains
Group Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group
Project type internship
Credits 24
Supervisor(s)
Examiner(s) Rolf Groeneveld
Contact info m.lowik@sympany.nl
Begin date 2021/08/30
End date 2022/08/31
Description The Dutch government plays an important role in establishing a sustainable circular textile value chain.
The national government developed the policy report Circular textile, 2020 to support a circular textile value chain. In addition in May 2021 told State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven the Dutch House of Representatives: “I believe that we need to work towards a cleaner textile industry for our planet and for a healthy future for our children. The UPV [extended producer responsibility -EPR] … stimulates more reuse and recycling of our old clothing, large polluters pay and the consumer gets more sustainable clothing.” Therefor The Netherlands is working towards the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules for textiles by 2023. The consequence is that the (Dutch) fashion sector will become responsible for the collecting and recycling of discarded clothing in line with broader government goals of having a circular economy by 2050 (report 2020).
These national policy reports are launched while in reality local authorities and municipalities are responsible for the disposed clothes and textile (falls under de Waste law). They ask fees from the collector to whom they have honoured the tender bid. Municipalities are distracting funds from the textile value chain by claiming money per kg collected post-consumer textile from the placed containers.

In general Governments have to develop the urgent required framework and implement these legal frameworks how ALL involved authorities, institutes and businesses should operate to contribute to complete circular sustainable textile value chain. Participation and benevolent is not enough anymore. The current environment is requesting more.

Design:
Conduct a fact finding research on the post-consumer textile collection of textiles in Europe (minimum 8 countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Poland and Spain).

The results of the research aims starting the discussion and develop action plans with municipal councils, producers, retailers, policy officials and government agencies.
It serves as basic information to get to a circular textile value chain.
This is a precondition for mitigating climate change, re-use resources and saving development of raw resources.

The goal of the WUR research is to conduct a research on the following:

Fact finding study related to the post-consumer textile (PCT) collection and sorting and their market in 8 countries.
Possible questions that have to be answered in the report are:
- Which laws are in place and which organisations are involved in regulating the PCT market;
- Which policies are implemented to stimulate this PCT re-use and recycling sector as essential links in the circular textile value chain?
- In which ways are PCT used in these selected countries?
- How what is their market and its accessibility for PCT?; and
- What is the future outlook of this PCT market for these specific chosen countries and for their market in general?

The study content will be used as information source for the development of projects addressing sustainable circular textile value chain.


Extended Producer Responsibility Textile
The second feasibility study is focusing on EPR fee for textile goods and roles of organizations involved, costs and financial benefits for PCT collectors; PCT sorters; PCT re-users; and PCT recyclers of such textile EPR fee.
Main focus on:
What different costs should be covered from the PCT collectors by the EPR in The Netherlands and/ or Europe to encourage re-use and make the procedure to proceed cooperation with the PCT recycling industry possible?
What is the deficit that makes recycling of ALL the non rewearable textile kg so far not possible?
When is collecting of PCT for re-use economic viable and collecting for recycling economic viable?
Used skills
Requirements