Earlier the Municipality of Herning had a lease agreement with the laundry service company “Forenede Dampvaskerier” where they rent, wash and repair the work clothes. The challenge was to address that all new employees of the technical operations department received brand new work clothes and whenever an employee resigned the clothes were discarded, regardless of the quality. Also when the current textile service contract would expire, all work clothing would be discarded. The discarded work clothes were not recycled. The City of Herning decided to investigate how to prolong the lifetime of the work clothes and include reuse and recycling of work clothes into daily operations in the purchase and supplier chains. This has led to the preparation of a new circular business model of work clothes in the municipality’s technical operations department.

Previously, all new employees of Herning’s Technical Operations Department received brand new work clothes. These were then discarded regardless of quality once the person resigned or when the textile service contract expired. The supplier provided also a wash and repair service.

In 2015, Herning Municipality decided to procure new uniforms for its technical operations department, with the aim of extending their lifespan and more efficient use. To do so, it developed technical specifications and contract performance clauses related to maintenance, repair and recycling.

By leasing uniforms through a service model, and including reuse and recycling contract provisions, it was possible to extend the lifespan of the uniforms, saving an estimated €6,700 and 1,011 tonnes of CO2 emissions over four years.