ReFAB Studio’s Post

How can we create a thriving textile industry that is both circular, inclusive, and just? Understand the need for systemic change in the textile industry to create an industry that is good for both people and the planet. Join Lis J Suarez Visbal-Visbal and Jesús Rosales Carreón at Circular Textile Days 2024 for an insightful session on transforming the textile value chain through circular strategies. 📅 Date: September 18, 2024 🕒 Time: 16:30 📍 Location: Circular Textile Days stage What You'll Learn: ☑️ Social impacts relevant to the sector's circular strategies. ☑️ Transformative circular economy visions and pathways. ☑️ How circular businesses can implement inclusive practices. ☑️ Policy pathways to accelerate a just circular economy transition. Who Should Attend? ✔️ Industry Stakeholders ✔️ Citizens and Consumers ✔️ Policymakers ✔️ NGOs concerned with the textile industry ✔️Students who care about a better tomorrow Be part of the solution! 🌿 Do you have any questions after the presentation? Then you can find Universiteit Utrecht on the innovation forum and also schedule an appointment with them via our matchmaking tool! #CircularTextileDays #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #TextileRevolution #Innovation #SocialImpact #JustTransition #LisSuarezVisbal #JesusRosalesCarreon

I’m forever yapping about the intersection of consumer psychology, business, and sustainability because it’s the missing link in so many of our sustainability efforts. The GAO's (US Government Accountability Office) acknowledgment of textile waste as a significant concern is a massive step forward, but educating consumers about textile recycling must go hand in hand with fixing the existing infrastructure gaps. We’ve already seen the fallout when public campaigns, like those promoting plastic recycling, outpaced the infrastructure to support them. This disconnect created confusion, frustration, and ultimately, distrust in the system. To avoid repeating these mistakes, the EPA and its collaborators need to design systems that meet consumers where they are, integrating textile recycling into daily life in ways that feel seamless and effortless. Awareness alone isn’t enough if people don’t have convenient, trustworthy, and practical options to act on it. Behavioral science shows that people naturally gravitate toward the path of least resistance, especially when faced with overwhelming choices or unclear guidance. This is especially important when considering the realities of modern life. People are juggling work, family, and personal responsibilities, leaving little mental bandwidth to navigate complex recycling systems or decipher sustainability rules. 💯 Most people aren’t neglecting sustainability because they don’t care—they’re just trying to survive the chaos of daily life. 💯 Expecting consumers to navigate unclear, inconsistent recycling pathways isn’t just unrealistic—it risks undermining the system’s success. When faced with decision fatigue and time constraints, many will default to the simplest option: tossing textiles in the trash. That’s why the design and infrastructure of recycling systems matter just as much as the education campaigns that support them. Another thing to keep in mind is that most consumer decision-making is subconscious, driven by habits and environmental cues rather than rational thought. Behavioral insights like choice architecture and environmental triggers are powerful tools to positively guide actions. My two cents: as this strategy evolves over the next 5-10 years, the focus needs to be on aligning infrastructure development with strategies that fully embrace these behavioral realities. Thanks for letting me yap, Bella Webb! 🤗

In an era where sustainability and environmental consciousness are at the forefront of global discussions, the textile industry faces its own critical question: Natural vs Man-Made fabrics – which is better? This debate is shaping consumer preferences, influencing industry practices, and prompting significant policy implementations worldwide.

Addressing consumer psychology and infrastructure gaps is critical for advancing sustainable textile recycling. ♻️ While awareness campaigns raise the alarm, they must be paired with convenient, user-friendly systems that fit seamlessly into daily life. Behavioral insights, such as making sustainable choices the "path of the least resistance," can ensure long-term success. 🌱 Let's collaborate to create a truly circular fashion industry! 💡 What’s your take on sustainable consumer behavior? Let’s share insights below! #SustainableFashion #RecyclingMatters #CircularEconomy #ZeroWaste #EcoFriendly #Sustainability #GreenLiving #TextileRecycling #EthicalFashion #SustainableLiving

How can we scale circularity in the textile industry? 🔄👚 Silje Lambrechts, Investment Manager at Summa, discussed why we should invest more in technology and circularity to innovate the textile industry at the TOMRA Textiles x The Conduit: A New Textile Revolution event in Oslo today. "We have managed to drive recycling in many other industries because of regulations, incentive schemes, and extended producer responsibility schemes. These are the fundamental requirements to transition this industry to a more economical and buyable solution," Silje argued. Are you curious about our perspective on waste and circularity? Dive into our report to discover why we believe that EU circular markets could be worth EUR 1.5tn by 2040 and save 650 Mt CO2e annually here: https://lnkd.in/dZ94CA77 Thank you for having us and for the great discussion, Cyndi Rhoades, founder of WornAgain Technologies and co-founder of Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems, Jenny Skavlan, co-founder of FÆBRIK, Simen Mørdre from Vandre AS and Vibeke Siljan Krohn from TOMRA Textiles.

The global textile industry is only 0.3% circular—but change is on the horizon! Innovative initiatives are leading the way toward a more circular and less polluting textile future. 👇 While developing the Circularity Gap Report Textiles, our researchers gathered an impressive collection of circular textile case studies. Now, we’re thrilled to share them all on our Knowledge Hub! Explore these pioneering policies and business practices here: https://lnkd.in/dQZyrRWg Want to contribute? Anyone can submit a case study to the Knowledge Hub! Share your favourite circular textile initiatives with us and reach an audience of up to 10,000 people every month. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eK_rs_w6

As World Sustainability Day approaches at the end of October, we're excited to share how our commitment to sustainability is more than just a buzzword for us—it’s a way of life! This week, our team gathered for an insightful Lunch & Learn session, diving deep into the impact of beauty packaging and learning how to continuously reduce its environmental cost. We were thrilled to host our partners from Berlin Packaging, who guided us through a rich discussion on: 🔍 Consumers' expectations around sustainability & packaging 🏆 Harnessing sustainability as a key differentiator in the market ♻️ Leveraging Life-Cycle Analysis to inform packaging choices 🤝 Engaging consumers in our mission through education Over the past few years, we have transitioned our bottles from virgin plastic to 100% PCR content, launched refill pouches made with 80% less plastic, and introduced water-resistant carton bottles in our haircare line. These seemingly small changes helped us reduce our virgin plastic consumption by over 6.6 tons just last year! A huge thank you to Berlin Packaging for being a forward-thinking partner in this journey. Together, we're not just changing our packaging—we're shaping the future of beauty! 🌱💚 Happy World Sustainability Day! #Sustainability #BeautyIndustry #Innovation #EcoFriendly #LifeCycleAnalysis #Teamwork #BaboBotanicals #WorldSustainabilityDay

Nominations are now open for Textile Exchange’s fourth annual Climate and Nature Impact Awards, recognizing exceptional contributions in the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. Brands, retailers, raw material suppliers, and farmers can be nominated, with applications accepted from both members and non-members. Ryan Young Climate Leader Award: recognizing an outstanding individual who shows commitment, action, and leadership in reducing emissions from fiber and raw material production in the fashion, textile, and apparel industries. Project of the Year Awards: aims to inspire others to action by showcasing those going above and beyond to drive beneficial impacts in these categories: innovation, climate, nature, and collaboration in action. Find out more and apply before July 15, 2024 here: https://lnkd.in/esT3X5_Y #Materialinnovation #Nextgenmaterials #Sustainability #Innovation 

This is well worth attending if you want to see how industry is responding to the incredibly complex picture of how to make textile and clothing production better for people and planet. I was also on the judging panel and what came to mind as I worked my way through the examples was how each product offered a different piece of the puzzle, whether through materials, business model, or social value... why is this the case? When it comes to sustainability, there is no perfect solution, because everything we do has an impact, so it's up to each individual or team to decide on what they value, what evidence they are going to base their actions on and also what they can feasibly do given their influence, resources and skills. Lively debate, critique and open sharing of best practice is the only way to move forward, which is what #WCTD is all about!

So how was the temperature at the Performance Days?  I would say positively sobering. Many stakeholders recognized that the implementation of projects and the achievement of critical volumes and quantities remains an immense challenge for a large number of market participants. The biggest change for me was that with one of the new players a different language was introduced. Less illusion and hope, more hard-hitting reality paired with a highly professional business outline. Patrik Frisk from the newly founded Reju presented its case for the much needed scale of textile to textile recycling and at the same time showed that the volumes that will be made available by the entire textile recycling industry collectively by 2034 represent only a fraction of the volume that the market consumes annually (5 Mio. recycled t2t tonnes out of maybe 60/70 Mio. consumed tonnes of Polyester). What he also made very clear is that recycling and regenerating needs to be paired with performance and innovation. To make a new product that is actually (as least as good or) better than the material that it is recycled from. So one thought is becoming more and more prevalent and that is that the concept of sustainable avoidance is failing and that we need more innovation to drive sustainable product performance. Because "the textile industry continues mimicking tactics from the tobacco (alcohol) and fossil fuel industry" in order to run and sell their volumes. (Quote from Changing Markets Foundation Fashion's plastic paralysis report) Image: Reju