Circular textiles – working together to reduce environmental impact in the fashion industry
Fabric Loop is a Swiss industry initiative founded in November 2024 by renowned textile companies together with the industry association Swiss Textiles. The aim is to establish a functioning circular textile system in Switzerland—for example, through an advance circular contribution to finance infrastructure, sorting, reuse, repair, and recycling (Swissinfo, fabric-loop.ch). The association aims to promote the collection, reuse, repair, and recycling of textiles, increase the transparency of material flows, and set design standards to enable closed-loop recycling from the outset (fabric-loop.ch). The system is to be implemented by 2027, with circular contributions amounting to just a few cents for a T-shirt, for example (Swisstextiles).
Environmental impact of textiles: Why action is needed
Textiles have a negative impact on the environment and resources in several ways:
- The average per capita consumption of clothing in the EU causes around 270 kg of CO₂ per year (luuup.ch).
- The global textile industry accounts for around 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions (luuup.ch).
- Studies by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation show that less than 20% of all textiles worldwide are reused or recycled—in fact, the figure is less than 1% (fabric-loop.ch).
These figures make it clear that urgent action is needed—especially in a world where super fast fashion is causing ever-increasing amounts of low-quality textiles (fabric-loop.ch).
Our mission: Development of an LCA tool
Life cycle assessments (LCA) can be used to evaluate products in terms of their environmental impact. Among other things, this method can be used to assess potential strategies in terms of their sustainability, such as circular economy strategies for textiles. To this end, we have developed a simplified LCA tool on behalf of Fabric Loop. This tool can be used to calculate different circular economy scenarios, such as variations in the collection, sorting, and use of recycled fibers or the implementation of reuse concepts.
This tool offers the following benefits:
- Flexibility: Users can create different scenarios—such as different rates for collection, recycling, or reuse—and compare them with each other or with the status quo.
- Transparent life cycle assessments: The tool provides a comparison of which option has the greatest ecological impact—for example, by reducing CO₂ emissions or environmental impact points.
- Support in decision-making: This allows structures to be built in a targeted manner and investments to be directed sensibly—for example, in infrastructure development or design optimizations.
- Promoting closed-loop recycling: The tool shows the conditions under which reuse, repair, or recycling is particularly effective—and where recycling contributions can be best utilized.
- Customizable: The tool has a simple structure and can be expanded and refined as desired.