Identifying and analysing co-operation possibilities between Finland and the Baltics in the circularity of textiles

Abstract

The textile and clothing industry is one of the world’s most polluting and resource intensive industries. On present trends, the industry’s harmful effects might be disastrous. The current way how textiles are being produced and consumed influenced by fast fashion causes ecological damage as well as harms the societal well-being. For the textile industry to fully shift towards sustainability and circularity, large-scale and structural transformations are required which necessitates cross-sectoral as well as cross-nations collaboration. The EU Waste Framework directive that obligates all member states to have a separate textile waste collection by 2025 has increased the pressure in the sector to move towards circularity.

The purpose of this research is to examine the present state of the co-operation possibilities between Finland and the Baltic countries. This research focuses especially on the waste created by the textile sector, although it is just one part of the textiles circularity. Regional constraints and possibilities for textiles circulation are analyzed in the Baltics context. In a responsible textile circular economy, production chains are transparent and traceable. To make this possible, data is needed, and thus data is another one of the focus areas of this research. Since textile circulation encompasses several methods and technologies, technologies which support textile circulation were investigated as a significant driver to accelerate the transition to a circular textile sector. The interviews with eight different actors from within the textile circularity sector presented that there is both the need and interest for developing co-operation between the regions.