The First Ever Circular Textiles Business Matchmaking Showroom: Tackling Waste Management Solutions in the Fashion Industry
Organized by Re-Fresh Global and Circular Berlin, the first-ever German-Israeli Circular Textiles Business Matchmaking Showroom will take place in a hybrid format: online and at Expo Tel Aviv on the 17th of June 2021.
Nowadays, the fashion industry is facing three considerable environmental problems: the industry’s waste stream, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. These issues need much more attention from people within the industry as well as outside the industry, e.g. policymakers and stakeholders, in order to be solved.
Luckily, there are many people in the industry who are coming together to find solutions for the massive environmental impacts of fashion. And the Circular Textiles Business Matchmaking Showroom is a perfect example of this.
The aim of the program is actually to create a platform to promote circular economy and explore new waste management methods.
When it comes to the fashion industry’s waste dump, the World Economic Forum points out that “while people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, they only kept the clothes for half as long”.
The amount of collections brands offer per year has increased tremendously since the year 2000, with some fast fashion brands like Zara offering up to 24 collections per year. Inevitably, this has resulted in a massive dump of clothes: “In total, up to 85% of textiles go into landfills each year. That’s enough to fill the Sydney harbor annually”. When it comes to municipal solid waste, textiles make up 10% of it. Presently, there are very limited waste management solutions, and if we don’t do anything about this, the industry’s waste dump is only going to increase.
In the picture: old clothes divided by color. Photo Credit: Re-Fresh Global
On this note, the Circular Textiles Business Matchmaking Showroom was specifically created to bring people together “who are interested to innovate and reduce waste, explore new waste management methods and promote an innovative circular economy with the focus on the textile sector.”
Whether it be sustainability entrepreneurs, brands, recycling companies, policymakers, stakeholders – or simply people who are interested in and want to be informed about activities related to the global circular economy – everyone is welcome to join the event, which is “part of a new year-long exchange program between a selected group of German and Israeli experts and entrepreneurs in the fields of sustainability, circularity and textile waste management, supported by the German-Israeli Future Forum Foundation.”
Thanks to its hybrid format, the event will have an international audience during these unprecedented times, with key participants being German and Israeli institutions and brands, such as Hugo Boss, the German Fashion Council, the German Circular Textiles Association, the German-Israeli Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Tel Aviv – Yafo Municipality, among many others.
From inviting keynote speakers to inviting startups and organizing business meetings, this event could lead a powerful example as to how countries can work together to tackle issues and find solutions to make our industries more sustainable.
To register you can click on the link below.
About Re-Fresh Global:
An open innovation platform, bringing sustainable and innovative conceptual and technology solutions to the fashion and textile industry. Based on Circular Economy, Re-Fresh helps develop the most suitable methods for closing the loop, recycling, and upcycling materials and industrial waste. Founders of Re-Fresh Global are Revital Nadiv, entrepreneur & technological expert in textile design & innovation, and Viktoria Kanar, entrepreneur & producer in fashion innovation & circular economy.
Featured Photo Credit: Francois Le Nguyen via unsplash.com
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com.
