#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-02-25

Worn Again Technologies is part of the Circular Fashion Ecosystem Advisory Board

Launched in October 2020, the Circular Fashion Ecosystem (CFE) programme is the inaugural project of the IPF. Its aim is to focus on the creation of a circular fashion economy in the UK. The programme will work with industry, academia and government to inform and implement change.

The British Fashion Council (BFC)’s Institute of Positive Fashion (IPF) has announced the Advisory Board for its first project, the Circular Fashion Ecosystem (previously known as ‘The Waste Eco System Project). The Board is made up of nine industry experts: Alan Wheeler, Director, Textile Recycling Association; Claire Bergkamp, Chief Operating Officer, Textile Exchange; Cyndi Rhoades, Founder, Worn Again Technologies; Dax Lovegrove, Director of Sustainability, Jimmy Choo; Franz von Bismarck-Osten, Senior Director of Sector Development for the eRetail & Fashion Industry, DHL; Jalaj Hora, Vice President of Product Innovation and Consumer Creation, Nike; Judith Rosser-Davies, Head of Government Relations and Education, BFC; Shailja Dubé, IPF Programme Lead and Circular Fashion EcoSystem Project Lead, BFC and Sonia Thimmiah, Head of Sustainable Brands and Customer Partnership, Reckitt Benckise.

The organisation also welcomed sustainability consultancy 3Keel who will work alongside Founding Partner Vanish, part of Reckitt Benckiser, and DHL to support the initial stages of the Circular Fashion Ecosystem.

Collaboration across the industry is needed now more than ever. The CFE programme will help determine what a new ecosystem looks like, the responsibilities of each stakeholder, and what are the practical next steps needed to arrive at the key programme objectives:

• To accelerate industry-wide ability for textile recycling in the UK

• To make the UK a major fashion “revalue” centre within the global industry

• To influence consumer behaviour into adopting responsible consumption habits

This is a multi-year, multi stakeholder endeavour which will establish a roadmap for change to enable a circular UK fashion economy.

As part of London Fashion Week February 2021 Presented by Clearpay, the BFC hosted a panel discussion on Tuesday 23rd February in line with the start of the research phase in order to raise awareness of the programme. Hosted by Caroline Rush, BFC Chief Executive, the CFE Advisory Board will discuss the project to enable a call to action to welcome collaborators, including NGOs, brands, big business, government agencies and innovators.

Listen to the talk panel: Circular Fashion Ecosystem Project, A Conversation:

https://londonfashionweek.co.uk/schedule/282/the-circular-fashion-ecosystem-project-a-conversation

The Circular Fashion Ecosystem consortium will be led by Oxford-based certified B-Corp 3Keel LLP, an award-winning firm of sustainability advisors with particular focus on product supply chains. Comprising six core practice areas, 3Keel’s mission is to work with others to create a better future for people and the environment, through ideas, evidence, and by bringing people together. They have considerable experience of delivering lasting change through working with businesses, policy makers, and non-profit organisations. To maximise impact, 3Keel purposefully pursues collaborative projects such as the recently launched BRC Climate Roadmap, their Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) programme and the ground-breaking Podback scheme.

The consortium will comprise four other partners, collectively combining expertise in circular business models and strategy, consumer trends, and behaviour change in the fashion and textiles sector.

• QSA Partners: a specialist team of circular economy and sustainable business experts with more than 30 years’ experience working with the fashion sector on resource efficiency including significant experience in circular textiles.

• Flourish CSR: a team of industry-leading corporate social responsibility specialists with deep fashion sector knowledge and the network to match.

• Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow: one of the world’s top 100 universities and home to leading researchers in the fields of consumer research, marketing and sustainable clothing consumption.

• Icaro: a leading consumer insights agency with expertise in market research and behaviour change who apply the latest insights from behavioural economics to help their clients understand their audience and design change strategies and interventions.

The consortium will be led by Dr Alex Hetherington, who heads up 3Keel’s Circular Economy Practice and has extensive expertise in partner engagement, stakeholder management, circular economy and LCA in addition to practical end-of-life solutions and circularity for difficult to recycle materials.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Managed workwear services are providing a blueprint for the circular textile economy

Managed workwear service providers are demonstrating how commercial success and circularity can go hand in hand by extending garment lifespans through repair, laundering, reuse and recycling, according to “Managed workwear services—a circular textile economy ahead of the game”, a new 14‑page report from the global business information company Textiles Intelligence.

Eco-design as the foundation of circular textiles

Based on the results of an extensive European analysis, the Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity is currently developing three practice-based training modules covering recycling technologies, eco-design for the circular economy and sustainable manufacturing. This was preceded by a comprehensive company survey and a joint analysis conducted by the project partners under the leadership of IVGT. The results show that the greatest challenges lie not so much in a lack of technology as in skills gaps.

Usha Yarns secures growth equity investment from Fullerton Carbon Action Fund

Usha Yarns Limited (“Usha Yarns”), a producer of high-quality recycled yarns with advanced, well established production processes, announced a growth equity investment from the Fullerton Carbon Action Fund (“Fullerton”), a private equity strategy managed by Fullerton Fund Management that backs established mid-market companies across Emerging Asia to accelerate decarbonisation.

PERFORMANCE DAYS announces new focus topic & forums for October 2026

With its upcoming October 13–14, 2026 edition, PERFORMANCE DAYS is placing the spotlight on one of the textile industry’s most important transformations: “Bio-Based Materials – From Fiber to Fabric”, a two-part Focus Topic exploring the future of bio-based innovation across the textile value chain. Part 1, presented in October 2026, will focus on fibers and next-generation material developments, while Part 2 at the March 2027 edition will shift the perspective toward dyeing, finishing, additives, and processing technologies.

Febratex 2026 to be the largest edition of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas with 10 exhibition halls

Febratex 2026 will be the largest edition in the history of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas. Dedicated to the textile and apparel manufacturing industries, the event will take place from August 18–21, 2026, in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, with a strong focus on technology, sustainability, and business generation.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues field trip brings international stakeholders closer to Brazil’s cotton production chain

How do you build trust across the global textile value chain? By opening the farm gates. This is the principle behind the Cotton Brazil Dialogues. At the end of July, the programme welcomed its first group of international participants for a five-day immersion into Brazilian cotton production, combining field visits with technical workshops to showcase the quality, sustainability, innovation and traceability behind one of the world’s leading cotton origins.