Clothing recycling system to be introduced in Switzerland

New association wants to introduce a clothing recycling system in Switzerland Keystone-SDA

Seven companies from the textile and clothing industry founded the Fabric Loop association in Switzerland on Tuesday. This association aims to boost the circular economy in the industry with an early recycling contribution.

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The aim is to make the re-use, repair and recycling of textiles commonplace in Switzerland, the association said on Tuesday. The founding companies are Calida, Mammut, Odlo, PKZ, Radys, Switcher and Workfashion.

The vision of those involved is a holistic system that starts at the production stage. Advance recycling contributions when purchasing a product are intended to provide the necessary infrastructure, technologies and services. It is not yet possible to determine how high these contributions will be, as the costs of closing the loop must first be calculated.

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Harmonisation with EU system planned

According to Fabric Loop, the planned Swiss system should also be harmonised with the European Union market so that cross-border cooperation would be possible. In the longer term, all market participants – including foreign online platforms in particular – should also co-finance the system.

Fabric Loop said industry solutions such as these are to be introduced across the board in the EU from 2026. Companies in all member states would be held more accountable by this EU textile strategy, and this would also affect companies from third countries such as Switzerland that deliver to the EU.

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PET recycling system as a model

In Switzerland, the successful PET recycling system, which has made it possible to collect, sort and recycle plastic bottles across the board, is also a model to follow.

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“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but rather build on what already exists where it works,” said Nina Bachmann from the Swiss industry association Swiss Textiles, which is supporting the project.

Before such an industry solution can be launched, however, preparatory work is necessary. The Fabric Loop association wants to develop the legal and organisational basis for this in 2025. Other companies are also to be won over to the project and the business model further developed.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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