“You cannot say that a fabric is sustainable in itself,” but rather “you have to talk about a system, which is sustainable or it is not.” This is how Marc Puyuelo, Strategy Director of Coleo, has summarized the current situation of the textile sector. “More than 80% of the impacts of a product are decided in the production system,” added Sonia García-Heras, Director of Member Companies of Re-Viste, in the same vein. Both participated in the table “Beyond 'use and throw': circularity and sustainable design for fashion with conscience.”
“We have to make sure that the system is sustainable,” Puyuelo stressed: that is, taking into account how a garment has been manufactured, with what materials and techniques, how much water has been used in its manufacture, how much CO₂ has been emitted in it, how it can be repaired when necessary and, when its useful life can no longer be extended, how it should be recycled in the channels established for this. Cecilia Dall'Acqua, Partner of Circular Economy and Sustainability at Deloitte, has pointed out that “garments have to be designed to be repairable”, which is why she has proposed training designers to take into account the sustainability of textiles.
The system cannot function without consumers, who increasingly demand more information and care about sustainability. Dell'Acqua states that Deloitte has verified that “there is a predisposition” to buy garments whose production system is known. For this reason, Carmen Durán, Head of the office of the Commissioner for the Circular Economy of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has explained that the Regulation on Ecodesign of Sustainable Products establishes information requirements for the consumer: “This information includes the duration and reparability, as well as the impact, not only of water and CO₂”, but the entire environmental impact, how much recycled material it contains or how many resources have been used in its manufacture.
García-Heras asks to “harmonize” all this information, since some textile companies only talk about their water footprint and others about the carbon produced, and he gives France as an example, which implemented labels that work “like a Nutriscore” that shows the entire production of the garment. Durán, who supports “not leaving the burden of environmental costs on the consumer,” added that “the Administration is prioritizing those companies that have better environmental performance.”
Repairability and second hand are already the present
All speakers have supported the reparability of textiles. Dell'Acqua has also highlighted “a social component” that is an advantage: “the recovery of the trade to recover circularity”, in reference to seamstresses, shoemakers, etc. They repair almost any type of textile so that it can continue to be used and there is no need to buy a new one. García-Heras once again gave the French country as an example of this, which launched a bonus to increase the repairability of textiles and footwear with certified workshops where consumers can repair their garments.
As for companies, Dell'Acqua recalled, this is a line of additional income and it is increasingly seen in them: there are several large textile companies that have established places so that consumers can repair their own clothes and “maintain the emotional durability” of their favorite garments. Also, he added, more and more are launching second-hand textiles, a market that is expected to reach 400,000 million euros.” “All brands are going to go through there,” Dell'Acqua predicted.
“We recycle textiles badly”
“We have the capacity to recycle and collect fabrics separately,” Puyuelo highlighted, but “we recycle poorly. In Europe, 1% of the textile waste generated is recycled.” García-Heras supported this line: “We have a huge volume of waste, so no matter how much we advance in recycling, it will never be enough to recycle everything there is.”
Durán highlights that “the demand for recycled textiles must increase” to not produce so much virgin raw material, and remembers; “We are taking the problem of European production to other countries” without the capacity to recycle, and that recycling will ultimately have to be done in the EU.”
All speakers, however, show optimism and see circularity as an opportunity. “The entire sector is clear that it has to commit to circularity and the agents involved in management are opening the doors to us,” stated García-Heras. Dell'Acqua has expressed “calm” because “incorporating circularity is on the CEOs' agenda”, while Puyuelo has stated that “we have recycling capacity”, which can become “a competitive advantage and will make Spain “gain resilience as a country”.