Less than one percent of textile waste is recycled into new fibres for clothing, and around the world, a truckload of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every single second. At the same time, global textiles production almost doubled between 2000 and 2015.
Today, plastic accounts for 60-70 percent of global fiber production, and plastic is now crowding out other textile materials such as cotton and wool. Both plastics and textiles are being increasingly regulated in the EU as part of the EU circular economy action plan.
Welcome to a talk with plastic researchers from STEPS, representatives from the training clothes outlet Stadium, the waste company Sysav, and the European Environment Agency. They will highlight initiatives to reduce negative impacts from plastic textile production, and discuss if it is possible to use plastics more sustainably in the textile industry.
Participants
Mattias Andersson, researcher in polymer materials and recycling, STEPS, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
Titti Larsén, Quality and Sustainability manager, Stadium.
Lars Fogh Mortensen, EU expert on sustainability and circular economy, European Environment Agency.
Ellen Lindblad, Research Developer, Sysav.
Moderator: Professor Lars J Nilsson, STEPS, LTH.
The event is organised by the research programme STEPS (Sustainable Plastics and Transition Pathways) which is led by Lund University. It is part of Sustainability Week in Lund, 17 - 22 April.
Read more about STEPS on the programme website
Read more about Sustainability Week
Lunch
A vegetarian lunch sandwich will be served during the event. First come, first served.