Circular Design to Reduce Material Use

🌱 How have the textile and clothing industries grown?

The textile and clothing industry is one example of an industry that has increasingly grown in size and material use. In 2022, the global fiber production was at a record level of 116 million tonnes, having risen from 112 million tonnes in the previous year. Polyester makes up 54% of the global market, whereas natural fibers, cotton, and wool together made up 31% of the market in 2022.[i]

🌱 What is the difference between nature and synthetic fibers?

Natural fibers are engineered by nature to be fully circular and compostable, often also having more durable and less toxic qualities than synthetic fibers. On the other hand, synthetic materials are often cheaper to produce and more stain and water repellent.[ii] Creating circular loops is possible with synthetic materials too — and in 2022, the recycled textiles’ total market share was 7,9%. However, most of the recycled synthetic fibers were made of PET-bottles, and alarmingly the percentage of recycled textiles in the global fiber market was less than 1% in 2022.[iii]

🌱 What examples are there of circularity in textiles?

There are many players on the market working to advance circularity in textiles. For example, some companies, such as Spinnova and Pure Waste, are increasing the share of recycled textile fibers.[iv] Some companies, such as the Finnish startup Fluff Stuff, are replacing synthetic materials with natural ones.[v] Other companies, such as the Swedish Houdini Sportswear, are developing new design processes to replace virgin materials with circular ones and ensuring the recyclability of all materials used in their products after their lifetime.[vi] Again other companies, such as the Dutch MUD Jeans, are leasing and recycling jeans.[vii]

🌱 What examples of alternative and bio-based materials are there?

There are also a number of startups that use mushrooms as an alternative and bio-based material source. A lot of different products can be created from mushrooms instead of plastics or other less sustainable materials.[viii] The startup Ecovative, for example, uses mushrooms to create “everything from an alternative to styrofoam to an alternative for leather and even bacon”.[ix] Similarly, the Dutch design studio StudioMOM has created a bicycle helmet from mycelium and hemp textile called “MyHelmet”.[x] Building materials and alternatives to styrofoam can also be created from mycelium.[xi] As an example, Grown Bio makes diverse packaging and insulation panels from mycelium.[xii]

This post has been adapted from a newsletter written by Saskia Tykkyläinen and Christine Nikander for a collaboration between Palsa & Pulk and The E-Waste Column. The newsletter titled “How can we design a circular economy?” was originally published in both “The Just Transition Newsletter” and “The E-Waste Newsletter”.

[i] https://textileexchange.org/news/textile-exchanges-annual-materials-market-report-shows-further-growth-in-the-overall-production-of-new-materials-including-fossil-based-synthetic-fibers/

[ii] https://www.masterclass.com/articles/natural-vs-synthetic-fibers

[iii] https://textileexchange.org/news/textile-exchanges-annual-materials-market-report-shows-further-growth-in-the-overall-production-of-new-materials-including-fossil-based-synthetic-fibers/

[iv] https://spinnova.com/; https://purewaste.com/?v=f0aa03aaca95

[v]  https://fluffstuff.fi/

[vi] https://houdinisportswear.com/en-fi/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwuJ2xBhA3EiwAMVjkVHXdPKJ1J8kRjBR10VlcSZLsnTuoIN7NJpUBRSsZKPRc6JpfJDZ5shoCpmYQAvD_BwE

[vii] https://mudjeans.com/pages/sustainability-mud-jeans

[viii] https://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article204959480/Pilze-als-Baustoff-Wenn-ein-Zunderschwamm-zu-einem-Fahrradhelm-wird.html

[ix] https://www.wearecollins.com/ideas/stakes-design/

[x] https://plainmagazine.com/myhelmet-studiomom-sustainable-bike-helmet/; https://studiomom.nl/en/projects/myhelmet; https://futuremoves.com/studio-mom-myhelmet/

[xi] https://www.db-bauzeitung.de/news/baustoffe-aus-pilzen-algen-und-sonnenlicht/; https://www.baunetzwissen.de/daemmstoffe/tipps/produkte/pilzgeflecht-als-baumaterial-2622825; https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/zukunft-technologie/pilze-statt-plastik-berliner-forscher-entwickeln-styropor-ersatz-li.163799

[xii] https://www.grown.bio/