NewTexEco at Circular Textile Days

From Wednesday 30 September to Thursday 1 October, we attended the Circular Textile Days (CTD) in Tilburg. During this sixth edition, brands, retailers, policymakers, researchers and innovators came together to discuss current issues in the circular textile sector. European legislation is imposing increasingly specific requirements on products, processes and supply chains. How are organisations preparing for this? And how are they translating new obligations into practical and commercially viable solutions?

This year’s CTD was themed ‘From Ambition to Reality’: how do we bring together knowledge, practical solutions and industry contacts to turn circular ambitions into reality? The NewTexEco research community also contributed to this, with examples from various projects and collaborations.

During a Care & Repair panel discussion, House of Denim, MENDED, Livera and Fabriek Fris brought together a range of practical perspectives. The session involved an open discussion on questions such as: How can repair be made an integral part of the services offered by brands and retailers? What role do shops and repair partners play? And how can repair data help design teams to improve products?

The examples showed that using clothes for longer requires not only good design, but also collaboration and appropriate services. Repair can thus contribute to insights that feed back into product development.

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For Rosan van Boven of Fabriek Fris, the CTD was also a special moment. Together with Terry Hommelberg (Livera) and Maurits Tiethoff (Dobbi), she is working within Care & Repair on Repair & Rewear: a digital tool and logistics infrastructure designed to make repairs within the warranty period more attractive than replacements, for both clothing brands and consumers.

During the CTD, they presented the initiative to a wider audience for the first time. The feedback and interest from various brands were positive. The idea that the platform takes care of the entire repair process was particularly well received.

Digital technology was also on the agenda. During the session ‘Digital Business Constellations in Circular Fashion & Textile Technology’, Professor Troy Nachtigall demonstrated how organisations can reinforce one another in the areas of digital identity, traceability, materials, circularity and AI.

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) provided a concrete example of how product data and business processes can be linked. In this way, digital infrastructure can help to translate European regulations into practical applications and commercial opportunities.

In the Innovation Gallery, we displayed two pairs of jeans from the Care & Repair study. They were made in January during a ‘Make Your Own Jeans’ workshop at House of Denim and have been monitored ever since. The researchers are examining the visible wear and signs of use in relation to how often and in what way the jeans have been worn and washed. What might these insights mean for the design of more sustainable products?

Knit2Last was also represented in the Innovation Gallery. Saxion, in collaboration with NewTexEco partner New Industrial Order, is investigating how recycled wool fibres can be processed into new knitted materials and what this means for the performance of the end product. Visitors were able to see the research process up close: from fibres and yarns to knitted fabrics.

The meetings held during the CTD highlighted just how important it is for different parties to exchange ideas. Nora Veerman, project coordinator at Care & Repair, saw plenty of opportunities during the event to bring together knowledge and experience.

Through these various contributions, NewTexEco brought together knowledge, research and practice during Circular Textile Days. From the shop floor and repair workshops to design teams, digital infrastructure and materials research.

It is precisely this connection that is needed to advance circular economy ambitions. The focus is not on a single solution, but on how insights from different parts of the supply chain can reinforce one another and how we can translate that knowledge into products, processes and partnerships that work in practice.

Image credits: NewTexEco