In EU policy, the textile value chain is currently in the focus of efforts to build a circular economy. Textile recycling in the EU is still in its infancy, although promising innovative technologies are about to enter the market. How can policy support the industrial uptake of textile recycling? This was topic of a webinar held on 31 August 2021. Members of Ecologic Institute's Circular Economy Team presented policy recommendations to the European Commission to enhance systems for the collection, sorting and recycling of textile waste – and to create a market for recycled textiles.

Researchers of the Ecologic Institute drafted the policy recommendations as part of the research project "Technical, Regulatory, Economic and Environmental Effectiveness of Textile Fibres Recycling", assigned by the European Commission (DG GROW). The recommendations were based on results of a survey addressed to stakeholders of the textile sector, expert interviews as well as literature analysis.

The webinar was jointly organised by the project partners VITO, CENTEXBEL and Ecologic Institute. The aim was to present the project results of all work packages and to discuss them with stakeholders of the textile industry. The results will be published shortly in a final report.