ESMA supports EU’s Circular Economy Programme

14 October 2020: An economy is circular when the value of products, materials and resources are kept in for as long as possible. The generation of waste is reduced, and recycling is a reality. For the textile sector, in particular, circular economy implies also new ways of designing, making, producing and choosing products.

So, the European Textile Platform (ETP) has launched a Strategic Programme dedicated to Circular Economy. The action plan on circular economy, released in March 2020, aims at changing the way products are made and consumed, by focusing on some key sectors like the textile. The EU proposes to work on a European Strategy for textile by 2021.

So, ESMA has joined the programme to participate in information exchange and know-how gain to further promote circular economy solutions in our industry sector, as well as to actively participate in setting up the terms of reference for sustainable textile printing. ESMA’s objectives are to promote adoption and correct use of various specialist printing processes. This mission is realised on multiple conferences (The Inkjet Conference, Direct Container Print, GlassPrint, Advanced Functional & Industrial Printing, Printed Interior Decoration) and during ESMA Academy courses which deliver technical knowledge and understanding in order to enhance the leading market position of the European printing industry. Further activities include involvement in academic projects and research of niche markets (POLEOT, CLIP, EURATEX).

The European textile industry has been pioneering new types of sustainable products and re-using different types of materials, such as jeans or plastic bottles. The EU textile and clothing industry is ill-prepared for this transformation lacking robust circular design and product development competencies, technologies for efficient recycling of textile waste and re-processing of recovered materials into new products and functioning circular business models.

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