Cases: circular design for textiles

HAVEP

Challenge

HAVEP produces (protective) workwear for various sectors, such as the construction, agricultural sector and (chemical) industry. The clothing industry is (unfortunately) one of the most polluting in the world. The materials that are made to make work clothes water-repellent or protective are often harmful to the environment. There are high requirements for work clothing with regard to safety. This clothing must be very strong. It is therefore less easy to use recycled fibres, as this is usually at the expense of the fiber’s strength.

The recycling process is still a real technological challenge. There is currently no technology for good and large-scale recycling. In addition, it is a logistical challenge to recycle the diversity of products, clothing and to make new raw materials from old raw materials. And it is a financial challenge: sustainable raw materials are currently often more expensive than non-renewable raw materials. So a combination of technological, logistical and financial challenges.

Circular design strategy

HAVEP is working on sustainability on various fronts. They use Ellen MacArthur’s 4 principles for circularity:

1. Quality and longevity of clothing: Let the clothing last as long as possible. This starts with making good quality and solid clothing. In addition, HAVEP offers repair services, etc.
2. Recycling: Where possible, recycle as much as possible. To put this into practice, HAVEP started a collaboration with a textile recycling company at the beginning of this year to process the clothing that we take back as well as possible.
3. Detox: As we work with more circular models, we also think about the materials that are used in the clothing and are therefore included in the cycle. HAVEP has developed a line that is free from certain harmful dyes.
4. Making the fibers more sustainable: As long as not everything can be made from recycled raw materials, we try to use as many sustainable fibers as possible. An example of this is the ambulance clothing that HAVEP has been producing since 2019. This largely contains organic cotton and Tencel® (a sustainable fibre), which requires much less water. Or our Multi Shield collection, a multi-standard line that also uses lyocell as a sustainable fiber.

Circular business model

The biggest chance is the positive impact you make as a sector, to eventually switch to a sustainable model that can be implemented for many days without harmful effects. Finally, it is also an opportunity to be a source of inspiration for other textile companies. It is very inspiring to work together with other partners, as a company you also learn from that. It is a dynamic process to look at the industry in a different way and to move along with the developments, which certainly also offers opportunities.

Result & follow-up

HAVEP’s ambition is to be 90% circular by 2025. That is a dot on the horizon and gives us a focus point to implement it in all areas: lifespan, recycling, detoxing and sustainability. This is a nice ambition.

We are now looking at how we can make this more concrete within the company and how we can achieve KPIs and progress with the various departments. By applying sustainable fibers in the clothing and concluding other types of contracts with companies. By collecting and recycling clothes. These are all components that contribute to circular entrepreneurship.

Loop.a life circular sweaters

Challenge

Every year, 235,000 tons of clothing are discarded in the Netherlands. Almost 70% of this ends up in the incinerator. To reduce this mountain of clothing waste, Brightloops started the circular clothing brand Loop.a life. They turn discarded clothing into knitted fashion and interior, such as sweaters, cardigans and scarves.

Circular design strategy

Loop.a life distinguishes itself by only using material from the local textile waste stream from consumers. And by producing locally and sustainably. Partners such as the Salvation Army and Wieland textiles collect the textiles. They then carefully sort this textile into 25 different colours. These colors come together in blends to create a specific color. As a result, it is not necessary to dye the textile. And this avoids a lot of water and chemicals in production. After sorting, the textile is fiberized and spun into new yarn with which new garments are knitted.

Sustainability is also central to the design of the Loop.a life clothing line. They make slow fashion: timeless items that last a long time. The garments are much less likely to break due to, for example, limited use of buttons and zippers. In addition, they mainly use mono colors instead of patterns and color combinations.

Circular business model

Loop.a life is part of Brightloops. They also produce clothing for private labels, such as Didi Fashion. In addition, Brightloops has its own brand. This allows them to learn and innovate. They then apply this knowledge in collaboration with other brands. In this way, they can achieve greater impact on a larger scale. Because the entire production takes place in Europe, Loop.a life clothing falls into a somewhat higher price segment. This is in contrast to so-called fast fashion products. They are priced so low that consumer behavior only further stimulates. Brightloops’ mission is to break this pattern. The private label price level depends on the segmentation of the customer. If desired, they offer tailor-made yarn development and circular product development.

Result & follow-up

Currently, people who are at a distance from the labor market sort the textiles by hand. Loop.a life now has a collaboration with Wieland Textiles, the Salvation Army and the Municipality of Zaanstad. Together they want to further automate the sorting, cleaning and fiberization process. This increases the quality of raw materials and products and reduces costs. In addition, Brightloops will focus in the coming period on further scaling up production and developing new yarns.