thumbnail_WCTD2022_campaignlogo.jpg

WCTD2022_campaignlogo.jpg

This collection has been built by a community of passionate researchers, students, and industry professionals as part of <a href="https://worldcirculartextilesday.com/" target="_blank">World Circular Textiles Day</a> (WCTD). 


World Circular Textiles Day takes place every year on 8th October.  Our vision is to galvanise the collective ambitions and goals of people, organisations and businesses to reach a fully circular textiles world by 2050. Our mission is to provide a framework for circularity stakeholders to develop and deliver a collaborative, evolving roadmap and to chart circularity’s momentum annually from the 8th of October until 2050.

What does fully circular by 2050 mean?
- Shared textile resources, in the form of products and raw materials, are kept in **continual circulation**.
- Virgin resources are **replaced with circular materials**.
- Dignity, equity, and equality for the **people** involved in all parts of the circular value chain.

We need to know where we stand today to chart how to get to 100% Circularity by 2050. What circular activity is currently happening in the textiles and apparel industry, and where in the world is it happening? The WCTD Collection aims to answer this question by building the world’s largest digital library of circular textiles case studies. 

World Circular Textiles Day is proud to be supported by our 2022-23 Circular Hero Partners:
[Lenzing](https://www.lenzing.com/), [Texaid](https://retailsolutions.texaid.com/), [Bank & Vogue](https://www.bankvogue.com/), [Usha yarns limited](https://ushayarns.com/), [The Conduit](https://www.theconduit.com/), and [Asia Pacific Rayon](https://www.aprayon.com/en/)

## Want to contribute to the WCTD Collection? Sign up and add your circular textiles activities.





World Circular Textiles Day

large_WCTD background.png

medium_WCTD background.png

small_WCTD background.png

thumbnail_WCTD background.png

WCTD background.png

Business case

Impacts on the financial condition of a company, as well as the the economicconditions of its stakeholders and on economic systems at local, national, andglobal levels.

Economic Impact

Impact on the quantity or quality of jobs, and shifts in the labour market

Jobs

Contribution to social parity, or impact on social disparity

Equality

Minimise waste through diversion: Instead of sending waste to landfill, it is redirected into other industrial processes for handling, treatment, recycling, recovery, or reuse in various forms. 

Minimise waste through design: At the outset of a process of project, plan and design such that there is zero waste or minimal waste during production, use, and at end of life. 

Minimise Waste (SDG12)

Reduced use and withdrawal of water and rate of recycling and reuse of water

Save Water (SDG6)

Producing textile and leather products and processing them into apparel and accessories

Fashion and Textiles

Ensure renewable, reusable, non-toxic resources are utilised as materials and energy in an efficient way

Prioritise regenerative resources

While resources are in-use, maintain, repair and upgrade them to maximise their lifetime and give them a second life through take back strategies when applicable

Stretch the lifetime

Utilise waste streams as a source of secondary resources and recover waste for reuse and recycling

Use waste as a resource

Account for the systems perspective during the design process, to use the right materials, to design for appropriate lifetime and to design for extended future use

Design for the future

Industry peers to industry peer collaboration to create joint value and identify synergies

Industry collaboration

Engage and guide customers and consumers to ensure circular use of products

Customer / consumer collaboration

Engage with the local community where facilities or offices are located

Community collaboration

Develop regenerative infrastructure

Develop infrastructure to support sustainable lifestyles

VISION:
People are valued and supported in an equitable, socially just and resilient society.

DETAIL:
Imagine a time when…people and communities are at the heart of any sustainable and circular system. The planet thrives, enabling us to survive with balance and abundance. People are no longer passive consumers, but proactive participants. The ‘makers’ who design, build, reprocess and recirculate products throughout the value chain are treated equally and are equitable partners in shaping and benefitting from the system. Textiles/garments can be produced and repurposed locally as well as centrally. A blend of craft methods alongside more automated production provides regionalised, multi-faceted perspectives and fulfilling livelihoods, be they high- or low-tech. Wealth gaps are minimised and dignity, equity, equality is a reality for all.

People and Society

Regenerate strategies phase out hazardous or toxic materials and processes and substitute them with regenerative biomass resources. A circular economy aims to mimic natural cycles—by shifting to more regenerative farming practices, for example—while also maximising the share of circular biomass that enters the economy. Regeneration can happen both at the systems level (by designing regenerative processes) as well as at the product level (by switching synthetic to organic fertilisers, for example).

Regenerate

Cycle strategies aim to cycle and reuse materials at their highest value: they maximise the volume of secondary materials re-entering the economy, ultimately minimising the need for virgin material inputs and therefore also narrowing flows. Of course, virgin materials will always be needed to a degree: all materials degrade and can’t be cycled infinitely, use energy, and require blending with virgin materials to maintain strength and functionality.

Cycle

CE Materials

Impacts

small_climate-4803653_640.jpg

thumbnail_climate-4803653_640.jpg

climate-4803653_640.jpg

Industries

small_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

thumbnail_coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

coast-wind-turbine-sea-sky.jpg

Materials

A framework of policy instruments that enabled and encourage the transition to the circular economy

Policy Instruments

medium_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

small_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

thumbnail_image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

image-20160922-22514-1aqaw5j.jpg

A framework of policy instruments that enable and stimulate the transition to the circular economy

Nace Sectors

The principles of a circular economy concern designing out waste, regenerating ecosystems and keeping items in use. Decoupling the economy from material flows—improving the rate of resource productivity faster than the economic growth rate—is also a consistent guide. By evolving with the growing number of applications of circular economy principles, and consolidating these strategies across thematic areas, Circle Economy’s Key Elements Framework (KE) renders the elements of the circular economy salient and serves as a basis to derive contextual strategies and interventions. 


The Framework consists of:
- Core Elements: Activities directly handling product or material flows; and uniquely,
- Enabling Elements: those that remove obstacles for core actors.


Key elements of the circular economy

large_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

medium_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

small_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

thumbnail_photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

photo-1515534238346-fb9ae3e399d0.jpg

Circle Economy's framework of strategies and activities that define the circular economy

Topics

Urban Opportunities

Whilst no two countries are the same, there are still obvious similarities between some of them, with discernible development patterns and parallels in evidence. Common problems and shared solutions help place unique country identities and individual issues in context.

Whilst this classification is far from clear-cut and exhibits some overlap, it does underline how the discourse on transitioning to a circular economy needs to account for both differences and commonalities, if we are to arrive at a more strategic and instructive analysis. It also allows to highlight a set of key themes that are likely to be central to the countries that fall under the respective profiles. 

Country profiles (Build, Grow, Shift)

thumbnail_bgsimage 14.png

bgsimage 14.png

A framework to distinguish between different country profiles and their circular transition needs.

Browse case studies by type of implementing stakeholder.

Implementing stakeholders

80+ circular strategies for product development 
organised hierarchically into three tiers
with tier 1 and tier 2 based on the Key Elements Framework

DISRUPT

It is 2050.  Full systems change has taken place. This wouldn’t have been possible without the immediate action and radical steps taken from 2020 onwards. Many targets had to be identified in the early 2020s and achieved by 2030 to ensure that the 2050 goal happened in full. A sense of urgency, turbo stakeholder collaboration, supportive government regulation and clear, data driven targets enabled the mindsets and systems change needed to transform to a fully circular textiles ecosystem.

A circular economics model underpins what we have created. It reflects and supports a living organism made up of makers, users and restorers, interacting across vibrant and interconnected networks. Checks and balances, alongside transparency and accountability, ensure a healthy system. Financial, environmental, and social metrics have the purpose of serving communities and the planet. There is shared ownership of profit and loss – across all three metrics – throughout the value chain.

This is what we’ve achieved over the last 30 years:

WCTD Themes

thumbnail_wctd.jpg

wctd.jpg

The Circular City Actions Framework provides urban changemakers with five complementary strategies they can use to start working towards a more circular system. 

The framework is action-based to provide users with concrete strategic directions and showcase the desired outcomes of each strategy. 
The framework consists of five complementary **strategies**, under which **sub-strategies** provide further detail. Finally, each sub-strategy consists of a diversity of tangible **solutions** which are framed in relation to key thematic areas. 

Note: solutions are currently focused on:
- 🍏 **Food systems**
- 🏢  **Built environment**
- 👕📱  **Consumer goods**
- ⚡ **Energy Systems**
- 🚌 **Mobility Systems**
- 💧 **Water Systems**

More thematic areas are coming soon...

'Click through each of the five strategy cards below to explore the framework and circular economy case studies in more depth!'



This framework was developed in collaboration with ICLEI, Metabolic and Ellen MacArthur Foundation with support from the MAVA Foundation. Read more about it [here]( https://circulars.iclei.org/action-framework/). 



Circular City Actions Framework

large_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

medium_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

small_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

thumbnail_Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

Circular-City-Actions-Framework-infographic-scaled_gray background.jpeg

An action-based framework for local governments working towards circular cities

Thematic Areas

City Stakeholders

![Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png](https://goldilocks-images.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Screen_Shot_2024_10_21_at_16_53_12_12858da6aa.png)

Based on the work of [Bocken et al. (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309699661_Product_design_and_business_model_strategies_for_a_circular_economy), the Four Flows Framework serves as a simple framework for managing resource flows in a circular economy by using less (Narrow), using for longer (Slow), using again (Cycle), and using clean, regenerative materials and energy (Regenerate).

These different principles of circular economy can be applied to our socioeconomic metabolism: we can design stocks like buildings, infrastructure, machinery, and vehicles to be rich resource mines for the future, and design manufactured goods and consumables to be cycled and made regenerative. Furthermore, the focus must also centre on getting more value out of fewer materials. Achieving the aims of a circular economy—minimising material use, regenerating the Earth, and preventing material losses—can be done through these four key strategies mentioned above.

Source: Circle Economy. (2023). *[The circularity gap report 2023](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2023)* (p.22). Amsterdam: Circle Economy. 

Four Flows Framework

medium_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

small_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

thumbnail_Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

Screen Shot 2024-10-21 at 16.53.12.png

Loop 24 July 2020 Reinwardtia indica, (yellow flax or pyoli), is a shrub with a bright yellow flower found in the Himalayas
Vasanthi shares her experience of nurturing a grounded textile enterprise in Uttarakhand.
Peoli is a wild yellow flower, which blooms during the spring all along the hills of Uttarakhand. The bright yellow is a symbol of hope and warmth when it appears after the long harsh winter; hence the Peoli flower holds a valuable place in local folklore.
Uttarakhand (located in Northern India) – mountain state is blessed with a bounty of natural resources – fresh air, dense oak forests and crystal clear water streams. Unfortunately, this natural abundance is being affected by extreme weather conditions caused by climate change, depletion of the water table due to an increase in population and poor access to basic necessities of life like healthcare and education.
The Himalayan landscape that we are surrounded by inspires us for a synergy with nature in a way which can celebrate each other, while mutually thriving, Almora, Uttarakhand.
Migration has outpaced population growth in many of the districts. In the last ten years, in the district of Almora alone, over 53,000 people have migrated on a semi-permanent basis citing lack of agricultural land as one of the major reasons. The absence of alternative means of livelihood has forced people to relocate to urban cities or remain unemployed. This is causing a rapid depletion of skills in the region, which was traditionally known to rank high on social indices. In the local markets, inexpensive machine-made goods, popular due to their cost and aspirational value have replaced the indigenously produced items, which would otherwise have sustained the local economy.
Borrowing our name and philosophy from nature and the local wildflower peoli, my fellow-batchmate and design graduate from the National Institute of Design, Abhinav Dhoundiyal and I, Vasanthi Veluri set up our brand in 2015. Our aim was to revisit indigenous craft traditions and propose an alternative way of producing garments with a lighter carbon footprint through our standardized hand processes and address a growing need in the market for eco-safe garments. Our design studio is based in Almora located at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalayan Range in Uttarakhand, North India where we work with the women artisans to develop a range of handmade woollen and cotton products.
Primarily working on a decentralized model, we engage about sixty women artisans who are looking for opportunities to support their families economically by a means that lets them work from their homes. Image Shine Bhola
A strong belief in celebrating indigenous textile traditions forms the basis of our work approach. Simple, functional and aesthetic products have been derived from the local craft vocabulary using natural materials and dyes, for consumers who are sensitive about the resources used in the making of the item they purchase.
Handcrafted from their origin, these products are a celebration of the essence of ‘the Handmade’, of the agile fingertips measuring each length of yarn, of the lyrical narratives of the counted woven picks and knitted stitches and of the sensory experience of the granular earthy materials. Carded wool, cotton, silk, nettle and hemp are spun into soft supple yarn using a hand-held spindle or a Bageshwari Charkha, a foot-operated spinning wheel of indigenous make, and further hand-woven, knitted and stitched into contemporary garments. Each of these products is dyed using natural colours, dyes or colorants derived from natural sources. While helping keep our carbon footprint low, natural substances are soothing materials for the makers as well as the users in their respective contexts. Natural dyes produce living colour – a unique hue each time, a colour as it matures and ages, pays a tribute to the Sun, Water, Soil and Wind and celebrates the story of the source from which it has been cultivated.
Stages of Production_ Yarn spinning, Knitted swatch, Indigo dyeing
Through our work, we propose a locally fuelled model of sustainable development. Indigenous raw materials like Harsil wool, Tibetan wool, nettle, hemp and dyestuffs sourced from local farming communities are used to craft winter and summer apparel. Ahimsa or Eri silk which is a variety of silk obtained without harming the silkworms, indigenous old world cotton—a more resilient and less water consuming variety of cotton grown without any synthetic fertilizers in arid climatic conditions and Merino wool imported from New Zealand are combined with the indigenous fibres to enhance their comfort and aesthetic appeal. A similar synthesis is applied in crafting the products where local craft skills like handloom weaving and knitting are ingeniously merged with hand embroidery, beadwork, shibori, etc.
Natural raw materials (from left to right) Himalayan Nettle and Hemp, Cotton, Merino wool, Angora wool and Harsil wool
The synergy of various activities at our organization is a conscious effort towards the conservation of natural resources and leaving a light carbon footprint in the process. Harvested rainwater heated with solar energy is used for natural dyeing. Hand-done processes like hand stitching, hand spinning, etc. are used wherever possible to utilize unlimited human energy and reduce our dependence upon machines and non-renewable sources of energy. Earth-friendly chemicals and materials are used for the processing of textile materials.      Using locally available raw materials like the seed coverings of a local plant called Mallotus Philippensis, also known as Kamala for extracting colour      Using locally available raw materials like the dried petals of Rhododendron flowers for extracting colour      Our vibrant natural dye colour palette explores the full spectrum of hues that we experience in the nature around us   Primarily working on a decentralised model, we engage about sixty women artisans who are looking for opportunities to support their families economically by a means that lets them work from their homes. This framework guides our entire design process at the studio, where it is our constant effort to develop products which are easy to interpret and process by the makers, and in return let them earn a sustainable livelihood, infusing a sense of pride and confidence in the humble craft they produce.
The alternative livelihood opportunities that we are able to provide using the local skill vocabulary also respond to the macro issue of population migration due to which the hill villages in many areas of Uttarakhand are deserted.      The women artisans who form the backbone of our organization – experts at spinning, dyeing, knitting, embroidery      Us with our core team of 10 women master artisans who further train and supervize the decentralized artisans. Image Shine Bhola    As an atelier, our attempt is to propagate aesthetics in the local craft vocabulary by allowing the craftsmen to experiment and explore their skills with pure and natural materials, bringing them a dimension closer to the actual craft tradition of the area that has probably gone extinct due to the invasive synthetic material culture.      Archives of locally prevelant techniques knit using a combination of various handspun yarns like wool and nettle to create unique textures      Fair Isle Shepherd_s Overcoat which has won the WCC Award for Excellence in Handicrafts 2018 for the Asia Pacific region and the Lexus Design award (India) for Textile Design in 2020    As a resource centre, we have been able to maintain a wide vocabulary of natural materials such as locally sourced dyestuffs – walnut hulls, rhododendron flowers, the seed covering of Mallotus philippensis, indigenous fibres such as Himalayan nettle and hemp and Harsil wool, colours and natural dyeing recipes, various woven and knitted patterns, which are rich references for designing products and help us in creating an aesthetic fusion of craft traditions and contemporary fashion.
The dextrous hands and minds of the artisans creating myriad textures with the help of minimal tools – the needles and the yarn
In the five years of our operation, we have been successful at providing an international platform to this humble but meticulous craft from Uttarakhand; our journey has only begun and we wish to keep expanding our horizons. At the core of our work, we seek a balance guided by design thinking, of aesthetics and practicality, of craft and contemporary fashion, of commerce and a light carbon footprint, of consuming and giving back to the earth in the process. We stand for the life-giving River and the knowledge that is the Forest.
Using wool ranging from the Indigenous Harsil wool to Merino and Angora wool, handknit clothing and accessories are created through an amalgamation of various techniques like hand spinning, hand dyeing, hand knitting, hand weaving
To learn more about Peoli, visit www.peoli.in. 
 ✿
Like the article? Make it a conversation by leaving a comment below.  If you believe in supporting a platform for culture-makers, consider becoming a subscriber.    Click image to view gallery    India | natural dyes | textiles 

     We are now shipping worldwide            At Peoli, we seek a balance guided by design thinking, a balance of aesthetics and practicality, of craft and contemporary fashion, of commerce and a light carbon footprint, of consuming and giving back to the earth in the process. Peoli stands for the life giving River and the knowledge that is the Forest.   
       A strong belief in celebrating indigenous textile traditions forms the basis of our work. Simple, functional and aesthetic products have been derived from the local craft vocabulary of Uttarakhand using natural materials and dyes, for consumers who are sensitive about the resources used in the making of the item they purchase.Peoli, as an atelier, attempts to propagate aesthetics in the local craft vocabulary by allowing the artisans to experiment and explore their skills with pure and natural materials, bringing them a dimension closer to the actual craft tradition of the area that has probably gone extinct due to the invasive synthetic material culture.   
        
     Thanks for contacting us! We'll get back to you as soon as possible.   Thanks for subscribing  


Almora

small_blob

thumbnail_blob

blob

Peoli is a design studio based in Almora located at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalayan Range in Uttarakhand, North India. It is an initiative by two textile design graduates from the National Institute of Design, Abhinav Dhoundiyal and Vasanthi Veluri, who work with the women artisans of Almora to develop a range of handmade woollen and cotton products. 	

Peoli

<p>Peoli is a design studio based in Almora located at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the Himalayan Range in Uttarakhand, North India. It works with the women of the region and gives them opportunities to practice their traditional skills and generate a fulfilling livelihood. Carded wool, cotton, silk, nettle and hemp are spun into soft supple yarn using a hand-held spindle or a Bageshwari Charkha, a foot operated spinning wheel of indigenous make, and further hand-woven, knitted and stitched into contemporary garments. Each of the Peoli products is dyed using natural colours, dyes or colorants derived from natural sources.</p>