Circular Textile Days 2026

How can we design and organise products in such a way that they actually remain in use for longer?

During the Circular Textile Days, Care & Repair brings together a range of practical perspectives on extending the lifespan of garments through care and repair. Using a garment for longer requires not only good design, but also collaboration between brands, retailers, repair partners, designers and consumers.

Wednesday 30 September | 14:00 | Innovation Interaction Area

The Care & Repair panel session Eco-Design & Product Development / Care Maintenance & Longevity focuses on practical experiences. We look at the role of repair across the entire value chain: from the shop as a service point and collaboration between brands and repair partners to using repair data to improve product development.
Moderated by Tjeerd Veenhoven, the session brings together three practical cases that show how different parties are working on this in practice:

• House of Denim, a partner within Care & Repair, on the collaboration between brands and repair partners, and the role of the shop as a place for service, raising awareness and providing information.
• MENDED, a partner within Care & Repair, discusses the Design to Repair Toolkit and how repair data can be used to provide feedback to design teams.
• Livera and Fabriek Fris, partners within Care & Repair, discuss repair as a retail service, the role of shop staff and craftsmanship, and the collaboration between brands and repair partners.

The cases provide the basis for an interactive dialogue with the audience. Using thought-provoking statements, we will discuss what is needed to make repair part of a circular practice.

Thursday 1 October | 15:15 | Main Stage

This session provides a practical overview of the Dutch ecosystem around technology for circular fashion and textiles. Professor Troy Nachtigall shows how organisations working on digital identity, traceability, materials, circularity and AI can complement each other. A key focus is how Digital Product Passports (DPPs) can develop into practical infrastructure connecting data and business processes across the textile value chain, and how collaboration can help translate European regulation into operational and commercial opportunities.

During both days, two pairs of jeans that are part of Care & Repair will be on display in the Innovation Gallery. The jeans were made in January during a Make Your Own Jeans workshop at House of Denim. Since then, Care & Repair researchers have been tracking how they are worn and cared for.
After seven months of use, the visible signs of wear and use will be examined. What do they tell us about how clothing is worn and cared for? And what can we learn from this about the lifespan of clothing?

Interim results from the Knit2Last research project will also be on display in the Innovation Gallery. Saxion, together with NewTexEco partner New Industrial Order, is researching how recycled wool fibres can be processed into new knitted materials and how this affects the performance of the end product. Visitors can literally get their hands on the research process: from fibres and yarns to knitted materials.

During both days, two pairs of jeans that are part of Care & Repair will be on display in the Innovation Gallery. The jeans were made in January during a Make Your Own Jeans workshop at Denim City. Since then, Care & Repair has been tracking how they are worn and cared for.

After seven months of use, we look at visible wear and signs of use. What do these tell us about how clothing is worn and cared for? And what can we learn from this about garment longevity?

Care & Repair is investigating how clothing can be kept in use for longer by better integrating care and repair with design, services and everyday use. The project brings together users, designers, brands, retailers and repair professionals to develop strategies and practical tools for extending the lifespan of clothing.

This approach is in line with NewTexEco’s broader ambition: to work towards a sustainable, circular and regenerative textile and fashion sector, drawing on a range of disciplines and perspectives. Design is a driving force in this endeavour, enabling us to explore new possibilities and to translate knowledge into concrete practical interventions.

Image credits: NewTexEco – participation in CTD 2026