Wieland

Wieland:

Wieland wants to make a giant leap towards the transition to a circular textile industry.

The urgency of an effective transition to a circular textile industry is bigger than ever. The negative impacts of the contemporary, linear textile chain on people, the planet and the economy are dazzling. From miserable and dangerous working conditions for millions of people that are working in the textile industry, up to an unimaginable waste of raw materials: from the total amount of raw materials for garments, less than 1 per cent is re-used for the production of new clothes. Moreover, the textile industry is one of the main causes of the ‘plastic soup’ in the oceans. Approximately 0.5 million tons of plastic micro-fibers coming from garments, has already spilled out into the oceans due to the rinsing of cloths when they are being washed. And what to think of the huge contribution of the industry to the global emissions of greenhouse gases? An amount that is even greater than the total emissions of the international aviation industry and shipping sector together! In other words, the textile industry is at the eve of an epic transition.