#Recycling / Circular Economy

2025-04-29

Practical, market-driven End-of-Waste criteria are key to textile circularity

As the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) works on the development of harmonised End-of-Waste (EoW) criteria for textiles, EuRIC, the voice of Europe’s recycling industries, calls for an approach that is practical, market-driven, and innovation-friendly.

EoW criteria must reflect the realities of textile collection, sorting, and recycling to enable a truly circular textiles value chain. Valuable textiles – including workwear, technical items, or garments with minor defects (i.e. missing buttons, or small stains) – must not be excluded from reuse or recycling due to overly rigid definitions or current technological limitations. Trusted and trained sorting operators are best placed to determine reusability based on real market demand.

Sorters and recyclers must not be administratively burdened with disproportionate requirements. The sector needs quality assurance frameworks that are realistic and easy to implement, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Support for the JRC proposed approach that grants the EoW for recycling status afterthe recycling process, in line with the Waste Framework Directive, which defines recycling as “any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances." While sorting for recycling is an essential step, output materials of this operation are intermediate fractions that still need to undergo recycling and should not be eligible for EoW status. As recommended by the JRC for the mechanical recycling, EoW status shall be granted at the point at which the output material is either ready to be used directly as a textile product or is ready to be used for the production of new textile products.

Recyclers cannot be held responsible for unknown chemical content in post-consumer textiles, and red tape must be avoided. An approach should be found that ensures compliance with the chemicals legislation without harming the textiles circular economy, and by considering the challenges of tracking thousands of substances in post-consumer textiles.

The EoW framework must actively support innovation. This includes enabling R&D through targeted exemptions for small volumes of textile waste, allowing the testing of new materials and recycling processes under safe conditions, without being blocked by rigid standards.

A successful EoW framework must reduce barriers - not create new ones. The future of textile recycling in Europe depends on smart rules that empower sorters & recyclers, drive investment, and unlock the full potential of circularity.

The European Recycling Conference 2025 heads to Hamburg

The European Recycling Conference (ERC) is coming to Hamburg, Germany, on 1 October 2025. This year’s edition, co-organised with EuRIC’s German members BDSV, bvse, and VDM, will explore the topic of “Building a competitive market for recycled materials”, and their critical role in delivering on the EU’s Competitiveness Compass and Clean Industrial Deal objectives.

Reju opens its first R&D Center in the U.S. in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania

Reju, the company specializing in textile regeneration, today announced the opening of a Research and Development (R&D) Center in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, the company's first proprietary research center in North America. Located within Technip Energies' existing Advanced Materials and Catalysts research center, the lab will allow Reju to accelerate the rollout of its recycling technologies and develop its next-generation circular solutions.

New skills for a circular textile economy

Based on the results of a comprehensive analysis, the Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity is developing three practical training modules covering recycling technologies, eco-design for the circular economy and sustainable manufacturing. The content of the first module, Recycling Technologies, has now been developed and validated together with industry representatives. The module provides participants with knowledge of regulatory requirements, material sorting and the preparation of textile waste for recycling.

Itema reaffirms its commitment to the Syrian textile industry at NasTex 2026

From July 18th to 21st, Itema will exhibit at NasTex at the Damascus Fairground (Hall 11 – Stand C02), marking its return to one of the Middle East’s historically significant textile markets. Itema will showcase advanced weaving technology designed to support the competitiveness and technological evolution of Syrian manufacturers and announces a new partnership with Growfast Agency as the sole agent of Itema in Syria.

KARL MAYER's HKS 2-SE Expands Possibilities for Premium Stretch WARP KNITS

Warp knitted fabrics with a woven look are more in demand than ever in the fashion and apparel industries. Stretch WARP KNITS, in particular, impress with their freedom of movement, breathability, and virtually wrinkle-free wear – thereby opening up new style worlds such as smart casual or business casual. When it comes to the highly efficient production of premium-quality stretch WARP KNITS, the HKS 2-SE has long been the machine of choice. KARL MAYER’s best-selling tricot machine produces standard elastic fabrics characterized by high gauges, smooth, delicate surfaces, and a soft hand feel.