Textile waste is set as a higher focus area in Denmark and the textile collector industry is called on for greater visibility by authorities and researchers.
By Annie Lee
A Nordic workshop held in Copenhagen in October 8, will present a set of volunteer guidelines for the textile collector industry. The Danish waste preventions plan is expected to launch this autumn with textiles as one of the focus area.
Nikola Kiørboe, consultant at Copenhagen Resource Institute, said, ”There is a need for greater transparency for the collection industry in Denmark.” The code of conduct for management of used textiles and a voluntary commitment for collectors, sorters, reuse traders, recyclers, municipalities, waste companies and producers or importers, will be introduced in the workshop.
“There are variations in collector's business models and their approach to dealing with used textiles,” said Anna-Mette Lysemose Bendsen, from Soil and Waste of Environmental Protection Agency at Danish Ministry of the Environment. “In a Nordic context there has been discussion about the need for a better and more unified framework for the collection and recycling industry.”
According to the Danish Ministry of the Environment, more than 40% of purchased textiles are collected via containers and secondhand clothes shops. The donated used products are reused or sent for waste management as recycled or incinerated. The rest is mainly collected together with household waste and mainly incinerated.
“The Danish waste management system and infrastructure is built up for incineration. Therefore it is part of the reason of why there is no separate collection of textiles apart from the ones the charitable organisations are doing,” Nikola explained.
The domestic consumption of textiles in 2010 was around 89.000 tonnes excluding second-hand clothes and rags, which corresponds to an actual use per capita at around 16 kg per year. In comparison, Sweden produced 15 kg per capita and Finland got only 13,5 kg per capita.
A forthcoming Nordic plan to promote sustainable and resource efficient fashion and textile production is also expected in 2015.
When recycling is not an option, try sustainable business models
“Very small amounts of textiles are recycled in Denmark. A few places are cutting textiles in pieces and sell them as industrial wipes. Most of the textile waste is exported for reuse or recycling,” said Anne-Mette.
However, there are now movements in Denmark like swapping clothes arrangements, clothing libraries, swapping or buying used clothes like online marketplaces Trendsales and Den Blå Avis, and a few designers are redesigning used clothes.
Anne-Mette said, “This is great because it is examples of everyday actions where the Danes act for the benefit of the environment,” adding that an increasing number of fashion collections are launched each year, leading to a more rapid turnover of clothing in consumers' wardrobes.
Resecond is the shop that acts as a dress library for customers to swap dresses.
“People buy too much stuff and we are producing too many things in the world,“ said the owner, Stine Skyhe, “Collaborate consumption could be a better way to think about fashion.”
Anne-Mette said, “When we focus on textiles the task is not necessarily to get people to stop buying clothes, but more is to find out how to produce and use with fewer resources and smaller impacts on the environment.”
She said it is possible to reduce the environmental impacts along the textile value chain from the design phase to product lifecycle and at the end to become a part of a new product again. “It is about raising reuse and recycling, phasing out the use of harmful chemicals and reducing the use of resources, etc.”
Despite the downcycling technology, such as using the textile waste as filling for car seats and insulation, there is the challenge to get new fibres out of the used fibres. Katvig is working with using the scrap material for making new textiles and Bestseller like NameIt and Jack&Jones are working with take-back schemes.
“There is currently technology for recycling pure textiles like wool and cotton, but not for recycling the mixed fibres like cotton or polyester blends,“ Nikola said, adding that they are now “exploring the possibilities of a recycling facility in the Nordic region”.