Stimulating Textile-to-Textile Recycling

Book excerpt: Extending the active lifetimes of textile products should be prioritised in efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of textile production. However, once textiles are worn out, recycling them back into new textile products is environmentally advantageous compared to incineration or landfill. A number of Nordic brands have been venturing out on pathways towards textile-to-textile recycling both through designing for ease of recycling and thus increase potential supply, and through using recycled materials in new products. This report compares the experiences of eleven of these and documents their motivation, challenges they’ve experienced and the strategies they’ve used to overcome these. The report is published in parallel with a case wallet and aims to inspire other brands to engage in closed loop thinking.