The European Circular Textile Coalition, spearheaded by materials regeneration company Reju, is demanding mandatory recycled-content requirements and policies to bring textile production back to European shores while prioritizing high-quality textile-to-textile recycling.
The European Circular Textile Coalition, a new alliance of 12 companies across the textile value chain, launched its official manifesto calling for a fully circular textile economy. Spearheaded by materials regeneration company Reju, the group urges the European Union to enact binding policies that turn Europe’s 12.6 million tons of annual textile waste into a resource for innovation, jobs and sustainable growth.
The manifesto outlines three main demands:
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Ensure a competitive European textile chain, bringing production back to European shores to uphold environmental and labor standards.
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Prioritize high-quality textile-to-textile recycling, making post-consumer textile waste the primary feedstock for new textiles.
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Set mandatory recycled-content requirements for textiles, with ambitious yet realistic targets phased in over time.
“We refuse to accept textile waste as an inevitability,” the coalition stated, calling for immediate investment in infrastructure to match Europe’s legislative ambitions.
European Circular Textile Coalition demands mandatory regulations
“Reju is a system change company, and we strongly believe that change happens with collaboration,” said Reju’s CEO, Patrik Frisk. “That is why this coalition is important to drive change collectively.”
The group’s advocacy echoes past calls from Euratex, whose 2019 “Manifesto to Deliver a Circular Economy in Textiles” also stressed the importance of scaling recycling technologies and incentivizing circular business models. While Euratex’s strategy primarily focused on industry alignment and innovation incentives, the new coalition’s position goes further by demanding mandatory regulations and a defined path to implementation.
Founding members include recycling firms, manufacturers, and innovators such as Resortecs, Tissage de Charlieu, Sympany and Utexbel (see member chart below). The coalition also announced the start of an EU-wide advocacy tour and extended an open invitation to other stakeholders to join its mission.
