Inaugural Update

Welcome to the 1st Accelerating Circularity (ACP) Update! We hope that everyone is safely sheltering in place. ACP is a collaborative textile industry working group with a mission to accelerated the industry’s move from linear to textile-to-textile, circular supply chains. We announced the kick-off of ACP in February 2020, just about the time COVID-19  changed our world and understanding of the textile supply chain. We must become more sustainable.

ACP’s focus is on creating the systems to reduce textile waste in our environment through recycling. While circularity includes resale and reuse, our goal is to address textiles when they are no longer serviceable. We re-direct them from landfill and incineration. 

This work will require us to reimagine the entire supply chain.  Please join us on this journey. 

PHASE II - RESEARCH
January 2020 – October 2020

After successfully launching ACP in February, we are now in full-on Research mode: desk research, personal interviews and surveys.  Our goals are to gain understanding of the location of textile waste, existing collection, sorting and feedstock conversion capabilities, types and commercialization status of textile-to-textile recycling technologies and the appetite for and support by brands and retailers for circular systems. Take the surveys or contact sarah@acceleratingcircularity.org for an interview:

• Recycling Technologies - for both mechanical and chemical recyclers. Designed to gather information on feedstock requirements, technology types, restrictions, commercialization status, environmental profile and process outputs.

• Brand & Retailer - for apparel, sport, uniform and home textile brands. Designed to gather information on circularity initiatives, fiber usage, and domestic production by product type.

• Post-Industrial: Fiber & Yarn - for manufacturers of fiber and yarns on the east coast of the USA. Designed to gather information on products by fiber type, waste handling, and circular strategies.

• Post—Industrial: Fabric - for textile mills and converters on the east coast of the USA. Designed to gather information on products by fiber type, waste handling and circular strategies.

• Post-Consumer: Reuse & Secondhand - for for-profit and non-profit textile waste collectors, sorters and feedstock converters. Designed to gather information on company activities, material flows, products and circular needs.

• Industrial Laundry & Textile Rental - for companies servicing or supplying linens, uniforms or reusable cleaning supplies. Designed to gather information on services, products by fiber type, circular systems and waste generation.

Brand & Retailer* Research at a Glance

• 50% have a customer apparel and take back program

• 30% are participating in a working group for circular supply chains

• 73% would be interested in sourcing in the Western Hemisphere

• 65% of companies would support legislation for circular apparel

*Numbers are based on initial responses and may change over time as response rate increases.

Waste Research at a Glance

• 6.2MM tons of post-consumer textile waste generated in study region

• <900K tons are collected for reuse and recycling

• 50-60% of the collected items are reusable

• 450K-584K tons of collected items are available for recycling

Note: Waste generation and collection figures are calculated based on 2016-2017 data from the EPA, and the % of reusable items has been provided by secondhand industry stakeholders. Reuse figures are influenced by a range of factors, including market conditions; it is not clear today how they will be impacted by Covid-19 in the mid and long term.

COVID-19 IMPACTS OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR WORK

Opportunities to Help

Leslie Johnson, CEO of the Laudes Foundation, kindly took the time to provide us with some ideas to help garment workers around the world: 

• Bidyanondo Foundation is providing support to urban slums where many garment workers live

• Rights Education and Development Centre is offering emergency support for interstate migrants in Tirupur

• SEWA Bharat works with home-based garment workers

• Help Jan Sahas Social Development Society provide safety materials, utilities, and emergency financial protection to migrant workers and vulnerable communities in India

• Fashion Revolution has launched an appeal

• Instituto Alinha has organized a fundraiser for migrant workers in Brazil

• The Awaj Foundation is a grassroots labour rights NGO with over 600,000 workers across Bangladesh.

Unsold Merchandise Options

One result of Covid-19 is the increase of unsold merchandise. We have outlined options in the order we believe are best for the community, our environment and businesses.

1. Donate to Disaster Relief Agencies
2. Warehouse goods to be used for future seasons
3. Reuse through sale in domestic or international markets 
4. Recycle into new products
• Disassembling items to make new ones from the existing textiles
• Recycle fiber into new fibers and yarns
• Make into wiping rags
• Make into insulation and stuffing
5. Disposal
• Incinerate
• Send to landfill

AGENDA

We hope in-person events will resume late this year or early next year. In the meantime, we will be sharing information and engaging in public feedback sessions online. Follow us on  LinkedIn or Twitter for event postings and updates. You can find our past webinars on YouTube.

If you have ideas or suggestions for an event, please reach out -- we’d be glad to engage.

May 19/20, 2020 RILA – Sustainability Committee Virtual Meeting.  Alice Hartley, Gap will be providing an update on ACP.
June 18, 2020 Sustainable Furnishings Council’s Sustainability Essentials webinar, The Textile Circularity Roadmap with Karla Magruder & James Ewell.
June 2020 Kingpins with Carved in Blue - Stay tuned for more
June 2020 ACP Webinar Series: Post Industrial – Stay tuned for more info
June  2020 ACP Webinar Series: Post Consumer – Stay tuned for more info
July 22-23, 2020 Texworld USA – Circularity is the next frontier in textile and apparel sustainability; Francois Souchet, Karla Magruder, Tricia Carey & Christina Raab.