WhiteCycle’s Policy recommendations: Driving circular innovations in technical textiles: Strengthening sustainable industrial value chain
This policy brief, delivered at the mid-term stage of the WhiteCycle project, aims to provide policymakers with an overview of the challenges and key recommendations identified by the project consortium that are affecting the deployment and implementation of the projects related to complex and technical textiles circularity. It focuses on identifying critical enablers and barriers within the current and future policy landscape that influence the success and scalability of similar initiatives.
The brief will offer recommendations on how existing policies can be adapted, or new policies created, to support the rapid deployment of textiles circular projects. This document has been carefully structured to provide a clear and actionable understanding of the key challenges and recommendations related to technical textile waste management, recycling, and recovery. To ensure clarity and avoid a simple "list effect", we have grouped the content into three overarching categories: Governance, Economic, and Societal. This thematic organization makes it easier to identify where specific barriers lie and how they can be addressed effectively.
The challenges and recommendations included in the document are applicable across all types of technical textile waste studied which WhiteCycle: textile in tyres, hoses, and garments. By formulating cross-cutting insights, we aim to highlight the common needs shared by these sectors while enabling a unified approach.This deliverable serves as a foundation for ongoing dialogue, offering valuable insights for future discussions with stakeholders, sister projects, and institutional actors. These early insights will serve as a basis for further discussion and refinement during the final project workshop. At this workshop, stakeholders, sister projects, and institutional representatives will be invited to contribute to refining the recommendations and exploring ways to create a more favourable environment for scaling similar projects across Europe.
