In this era of Circular Economy, where ‘waste’ also holds value, an Amsterdam-based company has come up with Circulator, an online global market place to facilitate trade of recyclable textiles.
Initiated as a pilot project, and launched in January, it is facilitating industries in possible recovery, reuse and resale of resources across sectors and regions. It will cater to the supply and demand of recyclable textiles (post-industrial, pre-consumer, post-consumer).
Their main goal is to inspire and guide textile industries to strive for zero-waste standards, as well as to prove to them how feasible and profitable recycling their textile waste really is. This effort is conforms to the recently announced Circular Economy package by the European Union.
The European Union has recently adopted a Circular Economy package that demands the retailers to ‘close the loop’ within their brand. ‘Closing the loop’ means to make the transition for a stronger and more circular economy, in which resources are used in a more sustainable way. This is a much better alternative to the take-make-and-dispose model of consumption. In this method of consumption, waste is not really waste, but recycled and re-used. Hence the product lifecycle goes a full circle, resulting in a closed loop.
In general terms, circular economy is an industrial economy that produces no waste or pollution, and all end-products are again reusable – either directly or through a period of time.
