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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

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Rampant material extraction is pushing the ecosystems of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to their limits. Over 11% of global raw materials are extracted within the region, yet it represents only about 8% of the world's population.

[*The Circularity Gap Report* (CGR) Latin America and the Caribbean](https://www.circularity-gap.world/lac), a first of its kind, demonstrates how the region can leverage the circular economy to tackle systemic inefficiencies in satisfying societal needs, conserve its unique natural wealth, and improve its people’s well-being.

To devise pathways for a circular transition, the report analysed the sectors where circular interventions could yield the most positive impact—environmentally, economically, and socially. This entails shifting to a circular food system, building a circular built environment, advancing circular manufacturing, transforming the energy system, reducing waste generation, and improve waste cycling.

[Circle Economy](https://www.circle-economy.com/) is a global impact organisation with an international team of passionate experts based in Amsterdam. We empower industries, cities, and nations with practical and scalable solutions to put the circular economy into action. Our vision is an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive. To avoid climate breakdown, our goal is to double global circularity by 2032. Through the Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative, our mission is to deliver Circularity Metrics that measure the state of the global and national economy and identify key levers to transition to circularity. 

Latin America Collection

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Policy case

Impact on increased knowledge and understanding as a result of the case study

Increase Awareness

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

Jobs

Impact on the health and happiness of human populations

Well-being

Contribution to social parity, or impact on social disparity

Equality

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

Fashion and Textiles

Producing and gathering crop and animal products from land and water through farming, hunting, and fishing

Agriculture

Working together with stakeholders and parties in other unrelated industries to implement circular economy strategies and opportunities

Cross-industry projects, pilots

Engaging in discussions with industry stakeholders to share circular economy best practices and push the industry towards greater circularity

Guidance, dialogue with industry stakeholders

Engaging in discussions with government bodies and policymakers to push for regulations that support the circular economy

Advocacy for circular economy policy

Participating in government programmes that support and advance the circular economy

Government programmes

Facilitate discussions and meetings between internal team members to identify circular opportunities

Dialogue with internal stakeholders

Integrating circular economy thinking into employee evaluations that are tied to professional compensation

Financial incentives tied to circular economy

Integrate principles of circularity into primary, secondary and tertiary curriculum and conduct workplace trainings

 Education and Curriculum

Solidify definitions and create frameworks to support the understanding of the circular economy across contexts and maintain cohesive systems of data sharing, processing and storing.


 Knowledge Management

Research and facilitate new technological developments to aid the transition to a circular economy.

Research and Development

Raise awareness and run information campaigns about  strategies for and impacts of the circular economy in different contexts.

Communication and awareness

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

CE Materials

Impacts

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Industries

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Materials

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

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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)

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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

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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

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     The Higg Index is a suite of tools for the standardized measurement of value chain sustainability, and it is central to the SAC’s mission to transform businesses for exponential impact.  
      To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video        It is comprised of a core set of five tools that together assess the social and environmental performance of the value chain and the environmental impacts of products, including the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM), Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM), Higg Brand & Retail Module (BRM), Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI), and
Higg Product Module (PM).
Across topics such as water use, carbon emissions, and labor conditions, consumer goods brands, retailers, manufacturers, governments, NGOs, and consumers can use the Higg Index to inform their individual sustainability strategies and drive collective industry transformation. We developed the methodologies of the Higg Index over ten years using the latest scientific research, in partnership with SAC members, consultants, stakeholders,
and industry experts.  
Register to use the Higg Index Tools                      Life cycle assessment tools that give insights into environmental impacts of producing materials and products
Tools included: Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI); Higg Product Module (PM)
Purpose: To understand environmental impacts of different production choices when designing a product
Who uses them: Sustainability analysts, material and product developers
What they measure: 5 environmental impacts  
   Assessments that give insights into social and environmental performance of facilities
Tools included: Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM); Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM)
Purpose: To identify opportunities for continuous sustainability improvement in facilities
Who uses them: Manufacturers
What they measure: 7 environmental and 9 social management categories  
   An assessment that gives insights into social and environmental performance of brands and retailers
Tools included: Higg Brand and Retail Module (BRM)
Purpose: To identify opportunities for continuous sustainability improvement in company operations
Who uses them: Brands and retailers
What they measure: 11 environmental and 16 social management categories  
         As an SME motivated by the ticking clock of climate change, we cannot spend our time re-inventing the wheel. Thanks to the collective knowledge present in the Higg Index tools and the generosity of the SAC community, we have been able to develop a deeper understanding of our impacts and take corrective action quickly.     DUNCAN COULTER, SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER, RAPHA  
   The SAC is continuously working to create comprehensive, credible, and scalable verification programs for each of the Higg index tools to improve the accuracy of the data reported. Verification improves the consistency, comparability, and credibility of Higg data. It also reduces the need for multiple, proprietary audits for facilities so that resources can be used in other areas, such as performance improvement.
To support the accurate measurement of environmental and social impacts using the Higg Index, the SAC is creating verification programs for each Higg tool. This is an essential part of the Higg framework because verified data provides companies with the trusted information they seek.  
        Verification Quick Facts

 The Higg FEM verification program is available at scale in 100 countries
 Through the Social & Labor Convergence Program, Higg FSLM verification is offered in 30 countries worldwide
The SAC will be releasing the Higg BRM Verification Program at scale in 2021
Higg Product Tools (Higg MSI and Higg PM) primary data is vetted by our third party gatekeeper and secondary data is independently peer reviewed
  
         Every year, average FEM scores consistently improve, indicating a meaningful benefit to the
industry and our planet.
Facilities that invest in year-over-year completion of the FEM, that also take the extra step of verifying their results, are proven to have the largest average score increases. This demonstrates that when facilities are consistently submitting verified FEM results, they are seeing the greatest improvements. For example, the 245 facilities that consecutively completed verification for the past three cycles show the largest score improvements, increasing scores by an average 22% every year.  
        While the number of verified assessments for Higg FEM increases every year, there is still room for growth. For the past two cycles, more than 20% of facilities that completed the FEM went through the process of verification. As more global facilities complete and verify the FEM and other Higg assessments, we will continue to get a clearer understanding of the industry’s environmental performance. Increased participation in verification will improve industry-wide transparency and help companies identify opportunities
for improvement and collective action.  
   Learn about our Higg FEM Verifier & Trainer Program managed by Sumerra. Apply to be a verifier or trainer.  
   Leveraging our industry-leading methodology, tools, and data, we’re excited to partner with our members and partners on a journey toward full product transparency.
In the last decade, worldwide interest in sustainability has grown, and today consumers are demanding greater accountability and transparency from brands and retailers. Transparency is one of the four core focus areas in our new strategic plan. By 2025, we’re aiming to have all SAC members participate in public-facing ratings of sustainable performance that are credible and trusted. To meet this goal, our work in 2021 and beyond will focus on developing a framework and standard for Higg Index performance publication, communication, and
marketing use available for all core Higg tools.  
Learn more about the SAC’s transparency work
         The Higg suite of tools offers critical insights that will help inform our overall global sustainability strategy. When implemented across the apparel and footwear industry, the tools provide a vehicle for collective action toward a future of lower impact and total supply chain transparency.     MATT HAMILTON, DIRECTOR SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS, VF CORPORATION  
  

    The project seeks to promote enhanced legislation and policies, to address the basic needs and rights of children engaged or at risk of child labour, and of victims of forced labour, while adopting an integrated area based approach, embedded in a value chain approach including cooperation with local industry and international buyers.      Partners Federal Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development; Ministry of National Food Security and Research; Provincial Labour and Agriculture Departments; employers’ and workers’ organizations; UN Agencies; civil society organisations; Pakistan Buyers’ Forum; cooperatives and media Implementing agencies ILO and FAO Target beneficiaries Children and their families working at any level of the cotton, garment and textile production chains; victims of forced labour and workers at risk of forced labour; relevant federal and provincial ministries and governmental departments; employers’ and workers’ organizations; enterprises, and media. Geographical focus - Nationwide in Pakistan - with a focus on cotton producing districts of Sindh and Punjab provinces. - At the global level, the project also covers Burkina Faso, Mali and Peru in addition to Pakistan. Pakistan is the fourth leading producer of cotton in the world with a significant growth potential1-2. The textile industry contributes nearly one-fourth of industrial value-added and provides employment to about 40% of industrial labour force3. Textile products constitutes 62% of the national exports and the sector contributes 8.5% towards national GDP4 Child labour and forced labour are both present in the supply chain across the globe including in Pakistan where cotton production processes are labour intensive and/or dominated by small-holder farms or by tenancy and sharecropping. Child labour is also a particular issue for certain parts of the textile-garment industry because most of the producers requires low-skilled labour and short time delivery. In the cotton, textile and garment value chains, there are indicators of forced labour, such as bonded labour, withholding wages, restriction of movement, excessive overtime, abusive working and living conditions involving also adolescent labourers. This project aims at contributing to the elimination of all forms of child labour and forced labour in the cotton, textile and garment value chains. It seeks to promote enhanced national legislation and policies, to address the basic needs and rights of children engaged or at risk of child labour, and victims of forced labour. The project combines integrated area-based and value chain approaches to cooperate with governments, social partners, local farmers, communities industries, and international buyers.  Map the cotton, textile and garment value chains with focus on child labour and forced labour and other fundamental principles and rights at work; Collect qualitative and quantitative data on the prevalence of child labour and forced labour in the cotton, textile and garment value chains; Review the policy, legal and regulatory framework at federal and provincial levels in line with the International Labour Standards, to identify gaps and provide concrete recommendations through tripartite frameworks; Strengthen the institutional capacity of the country through their formal compliance mechanisms for the elimination of child labour and forced labour in the supply chain; Strengthen the capacity of employers’ and workers’ organizations in eliminating child labour and forced labour and cotton, textile and garment production workers to exercise their right to freedom of association and other fundamental rights at work; Develop proposals for the mainstreaming of child labour and forced labour issues into existing policies and social programmes and validate them by key stakeholders. Develop gender-responsive community-based multi-stakeholder monitoring and remedial mechanisms to combat child labour and forced labour; Support due diligence initiatives and grievance mechanisms concerning child labour and forced labour along the value chain; Strengthen livelihoods of vulnerable families and good agricultural practices that are emphatic on not engaging children in child labour and on identifying alternative practices; Raise awareness on child labour and forced labour in cotton, textile and garment value chains; Develop model youth and women employment schemes and their supporting functions; Improve children’s access to education in cotton production areas.   Legislation, regulations, policies and programmes at the federal and provincial levels are strengthened to combat child labour and forced labour in the cotton, textile and garment sector Local governments, public services providers, and other relevant stakeholders take effective action to stop child labour and forced labour in target cotton growing districts and communities and garment/textiles factories.    1 - http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey_1617.html   2 - https://www.ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_IPEC_PUB_29655/lang--en/index.htm   3 - http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey_1617.html     

Peru

Pakistan

Burkina Faso

Mali

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International Labour Organisation

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

EU Development Cooperation Instrument 

Cotton is one of the world’s most widely grown crops, is heavily used within the textiles industry, and is an important agricultural commodity. For many countries, it is a source of great economic growth and employment. However, child and forced labour within the industry is a severe example of the systematic challenges and exploitative working conditions connected to the lack of sustainability and transparency within the textile and apparel supply chains.&nbsp;

The Clear Cotton Project: Eliminating child and forced labour in the cotton, textile and garment chains

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This collection features a selection of case studies, mainly based on the [2024 Circularity Gap Report](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024). 

In this year’s Report, we shift from exploring the what to the how: exploring the different ways that we need to ‘change the rules of the game’ and create a set of conditions that discourage the overshoot of planetary boundaries and ‘undershoot’ of human development. This process has resulted in us spotlighting 12 of the original 16 solutions, highlighting the country profile that they are most relevant to, as well as placing people at the centre of this story for the first time. Based on extensive interviews and desk research, this Report aims to show governments and industry leaders that if they want to turn theory into action and scale an economy that delivers on needs within the safe limits of the planet, they need to dismantle harmful entrenched processes and align enabling elements. 

[Circle Economy](https://www.circle-economy.com/) is a global impact organisation with an international team of passionate experts based in Amsterdam. We empower industries, cities, and nations with practical and scalable solutions to put the circular economy into action. Our vision is an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive. To avoid climate breakdown, our goal is to double global circularity by 2032. 

Through the *Circularity Gap Reporting Initiative*, our mission is to deliver an annual global Circularity Metric that measures the state of the world economy and identifies key levers to transition to global circularity. 

To learn more about these interventions to accelerate the circular transition, read the [latest Circularity Gap Report 2024](https://www.circularity-gap.world/2024), as well as previous editions of the global [Circularity Gap Reports](https://www.circularity-gap.world/global).

Global Circularity Gap Report 2024

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Producing machinery for mining, construction, industrial, and agricultural use, such as heavy duty trucks, rolling machinery, earth-moving and construction equipment, farm machinery, commercial printing and presses, machine tools, compressors, pollution control equipment, elevators, escalators, insulators, pumps, etc., including their related parts

Machinery

Producing electric cables and wires, power-generating equipment, including solar modules, motors, power turbines, as well as electronic equipment and instruments, including computer chips, communication equipment, analytical instruments, lasers, display screens, point-of-sales machines, security system equipment, and healthcare equipment

Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Providing residential and non-residential construction services, such as architectural, engineering, planning, real-estate, contracting, and inspection services

Construction and Real Estate Services

Producing building materials and finished and semi-finished building products for construction

Construction Materials and Products

Designing products to resist damage and wear, and serve a long and useful life.

Design for physical durability

Data, knowledge & information sharing

Increase standardised data collection

Conduct research

Roadmaps and strategies and targets

Monitoring & enforcement

Review and update regulation

Compact city development

Performance standards

Technology standards

Build countries consume 13% of the global material footprint, while they account for almost 50% of the population. 

Examples include countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia such as: 
- Bangladesh
- Ethiopia
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- The Philippines
- Some small island states, ...

Minimal contribution to the overshoot of planetary boundaries: these countries contribute 20% of land use change, 30% of
freshwater use, 23% of phosphorus emissions to soil, and 11% of nitrogen emissions.

To find out what country profile your country belongs to, explore [this interactive story](https://circularity-gap.world) and search for your country on the final map.

Build

The built environment, including housing, commercial buildings, and the necessary infrastructure for mobility, is essential for our livelihoods, but:
- the extraction of minerals used to produce construction materials is responsible for a quarter of global land use change,
- approximately 40% of global GHG emissions can be attributed to buildings’ construction, use and demolition, and
- construction and demolition processes drive nearly one-third of all material consumption. 

Making the built environment more circular must prioritise a heavy reduction in material use—while also closing the loop on materials and bringing secondary and renewable material choices to the fore. Our four key solutions for the built environment are:
- Make the most of what already exists: Make the most of existing materials by reusing, repurposing, upgrading and renovating following circular approaches. Where new builds are needed, use secondary materials and be as efficient as possible with urban planning solutions that follow circular design principles so that buildings can be reused, repurposed, and easily disassembled in the future.
- Be as energy efficient as possible: From the design phase, utilise circular strategies to create material- and energy efficient buildings. Couple these designs with a rollout of clean energy solutions, and prioritise energy-efficient appliances and retrofitting. 
- Utilise secondary materials: Maximise the high-value reuse of buildings and components where possible. Ideally, enable the utilisation of construction and demolition outputs and ensure that as much of it as possible is recycled to avoid the need for virgin materials, such as sand and gravel.
- Prioritise circular materials and approaches: Transition to using renewable wood, timber or cross-laminated timber instead of steel and concrete, or move to other locally available materials. Utilise mainstream modular construction and prioritise lightweight frames and structures to reduce cement and steel use, as well as green roofs where possible.



🏢 Built Environment

**Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all**

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Progress towards achieving SDG8 has been challenging and the world is far from reaching most of the targets. The lingering effects of COVID-19, cost-of-living crises, trade tensions, uncertain monetary policy paths, rising debts in developing countries, and the war in Ukraine can each significantly set back global economic growth. Combined, these crises are placing the global economy under a serious threat. Global real GDP per capita is forecast to slow down in 2023, putting at risk not just employment and income but also advances inequitable pay for women and decent work for young people. 

With governments today seeking effective ways to lead their nations out of these related crises whilst also taking into account these planetary boundaries, green economy (in its various forms) has been proposed as a means for catalysing renewed national policy development and international cooperation and support for sustainable development. The concept has received significant international attention over the past few years as a tool to address the 2008 financial crisis as well as one of two themes for the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). This has resulted in a rapidly expanding literature including new publications on green economy from a variety of influential international organisations, national governments, think tanks, experts, non-government organisations and others.

In parallel, tourism is one of the world's fastest-growing industries and an important source of foreign exchange and employment, while being closely linked to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of many countries, especially developing countries. Maritime or ocean-related tourism, as well as coastal tourism, are for example vital sectors of the economy in small island developing States (SIDS) and coastal least developed countries (LDCs). 
The World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities".

Finally, this goal entails decent work, employment creation, social protection, rights at work and social dialogue to be represented as part of integral elements of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Furthermore, crucial aspects of decent work are broadly rooted in the targets of many of the other 16 goals.

Achieving SDG8 will require a wholesale reform of our morally bankrupt financial system in order to tackle rising debts, economic uncertainties, and trade tensions, while promoting equitable pay and decent work for young people.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/green-economy](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/green-economy)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-tourism](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-tourism)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/employment-decent-work-all-and-social-protection](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/employment-decent-work-all-and-social-protection)

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8. Decent work and economic growth

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

**Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation**

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The manufacturing industry’s recovery from COVID-19 remains incomplete and uneven: some high-income regions achieved record-high manufacturing value added per capita in 2022 but levels in LDCs were not much higher than the 2015 baseline. 
In the aftermath of the pandemic, data show that higher-technology industries recovered faster and proved to be more resilient, pointing to the need to promote innovation and technology transfer in a way that benefits all countries. 

Inclusive and sustainable industrial development has been incorporated, together with resilient infrastructure and innovation, as Sustainable Development Goal 9 in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

To achieve Goal 9 by 2030 it is essential to support LDCs, invest in advanced technologies, lower carbon emissions, and increase global mobile broadband access.

This goal's target includes:
- develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all;
- promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries;
- increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets;
- by 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities;
- enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending;
- facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States;
- support domestic technology development, research and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities;
- significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020.

Sources: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9)
[https://sdgs.un.org/topics/industry](https://sdgs.un.org/topics/industry)

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9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure  

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

**Reduce inequality within and among countries**

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Before the pandemic, the incomes of the bottom 40% of the population grew faster than the national average in a majority of countries. The impacts of the pandemic and uneven recoveries in different regions of the world threaten to reverse that trend and further worsen global inequality. 
Record numbers are being forced to flee conflicts and economic hardship. By mid-2022, one in 251 people worldwide was a refugee, the highest proportion ever documented. 

This goal's target includes: 
- progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population at a rate higher than the national average;
- empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status; 
- ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard;
- adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality;
- improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations;
- ensure enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions;
- facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies;
- implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements;
- encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States, and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes;
- reduce to less than 3 percent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 percent.

Achieving SDG 10 requires concerted efforts to address the root causes of wage disparities and access to resources both within- and between-country inequality. 

Source : [https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal10](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal10)

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10. Reduced inequalities

Reduce inequality within and among countries

🏢 Built environment

Based on extensive interviews and desk research, this Report aims to show governments and industry leaders that if they want to turn theory into action and scale an economy that delivers on needs within the safe limits of the planet, they need to dismantle harmful entrenched processes and align enabling elements - policy, finance, and people

- Build circular expertise and skills: Ensure people are skilled and trained to ensure a just transition where opportunities and decent livelihoods are fairly distributed across and within societies.


People

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

Policies

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

Thematic Areas

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**These 17 Goals recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.**

The SDGs build on decades of work by countries and the UN, and especially on the Millennium Declaration adopted in September 2000 at UN Headquarters in New York which let to the elaboration of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.

In 2015, the Paris Agreement was signed. A major blueprint came out of this: The Sustainable Development Goals: 17 overarching goals—and 169 targets—that governments are aiming to meet by 2030. Significant progress has been made in terms of poverty, health and inequality, but there's still a way to go. This is where the circular economy comes in: by circulating resources multiple times, the circular economy tackles issues of scarcity and allows all to access what they need—without overburdening the earth. If it's implemented in a holistic way—affording attention to social considerations and the fair distribution of resources— it also offers a pathway for achieving the SDGs; and the link between the two is ever-growing. To read more about the link between the SDGs and the circular economy, click [here](https://www.circle-economy.com/blogs/how-the-circular-economy-can-help-us-reach-the-sustainable-development-goals).

It is the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) which provides substantive support and capacity-building for the SDGs and their related thematic issues. TheDSDG plays a key role in the evaluation of UN systemwide implementation of the 2030 Agenda and in advocacy and outreach activities relating to the SDGs. In order to make the 2030 Agenda a reality, broad ownership of the SDGs must translate into a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals. DSDG aims to help facilitate this engagement.
Alongside this, the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development serves as the central UN platform for the follow-up and review of the SDGs.
In addition, the UN Secretary-General presents an annual SDG Progress report, which is developed in cooperation with the UN System, and based on the global indicator framework and data produced by national statistical systems and information collected at the regional level.

To read more information: [https://sdgs.un.org/goals](https://sdgs.un.org/goals)

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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In the 2024 Report, we shift from exploring the what to the how: exploring the different ways that we need to ‘change the rules of the game’ and create a set of conditions that discourage the overshoot of planetary boundaries and ‘undershoot’ of human development. 

This process has resulted in us spotlighting 12 of the original 16 solutions, highlighting the country profile that they are most relevant to, as well as placing people at the center of this story for the first time. 


Based on extensive interviews and desk research, this Report aims to show governments and industry leaders that if they want to turn theory into action and scale an economy that delivers on needs within the safe limits of the planet, they need to dismantle harmful entrenched processes and align enabling elements:

- Create a level policy playing field: Set the ‘rules of the game’ through policies and legal frameworks that incentivise sustainable and circular practices while penalising harmful ones, thereby shaping the nature and scale of economic activities across industries and nations. 

- Get the economics right: Adjust fiscal policies and practices to create true prices and ensure that circular solutions are funded so that they can replace linear norms.

- Build circular expertise and skills: Ensure people are skilled and trained to ensure a just transition where opportunities and decent livelihoods are fairly distributed across and within societies.

Enabling factors

 
On 24 April 2013, the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which housed five garment factories, killed at least 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500. Only five months earlier, at least 112 workers had lost their lives in another tragic accident, trapped inside the burning Tazreen Fashions factory on the outskirts of Dhaka. These disasters, among the worst industrial accidents on record, awoke the world to the poor labour conditions faced by workers in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh.
For some of the lowest wages of the world, millions of people, most of them girls and women, are exposed every day to an unsafe work environment with a high incidence of work-related accidents and deaths, as well as occupational diseases. Most of the factories do not meet standards required by building and construction legislation. As a result, deaths from fire incidents and building collapses are frequent. Since the Rana Plaza disaster, no fewer than 109 accidents have occurred. Among these, at least 35 were textile factory incidents in which 491 workers were injured and 27 lost their lives. In the absence of a well-functioning labour inspection system and of appropriate enforcement mechanisms, decent work and life in dignity are still far from reality for the vast majority of workers in the garment industry and their families. Given the hazardous working conditions and the high risk of exposure to employment injury in this sector, the provision of adequate benefits is of critical importance in compensating injured workers for the loss of earnings they are likely to suffer, and to ensure that they have access to the medical and associated care required by their condition. Access to some form of financial compensation or support for dependent family members who lose their breadwinner can also make the difference between life in dire poverty, where children and older people are forced to work to survive, and life at or just above subsistence level. At present, the only form of financial protection available to workers and their dependants is set out in the labour code, which requires employers, when liable, to provide specified payments to injured workers or survivors. A recent amendment to the labour code requires employers to insure themselves against liability, but no such obligation was in force at the time Tazreen caught fire, or when Rana Plaza collapsed. The amounts of compensation envisaged are also very low and take the form of lump sums, offering inadequate protection to beneficiaries against ill health and poverty in the medium and long term. The system is also plagued by major practical application issues (e.g. evasion, lack of proper enforcement, absence of effective recourse), with the result that legal entitlements very rarely materialize. Despite the magnitude of the losses suffered by the victims of the Tazreen and Rana Plaza accidents and their survivors, no compensation was paid in application of the labour code provisions on employer liability. A small number of global buyers and local players made some payments to victims in the months following the disasters, albeit on a voluntary basis. 
To redress the situation more substantively and ensure that injured workers and dependants of the deceased were effectively compensated, both financially and in respect of medical and other relevant care, global and local stakeholders got together and agreed to an unprecedented coordinated framework. With the ILO acting as a neutral chair, an Arrangement was adopted, providing a single approach to compensation consistent with ILO standards, and more specifically with the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121). 

Following a number of recent tragedies such as the Tampoco and MultiFabs factory fires in 2016 and 2017, as well as earlier accidents such as the Tazreen fire and the Rana Plaza disaster, local authorities and stakeholders at the national and international levels, with the involvement of organizations such as the IndustriAll Global Union and Clean Clothes Campaign, took bold steps to strengthen occupational safety and health, labour inspection services, skills training and rehabilitation services in the long term, notably with the support of the ILO and of global buyers. Action has also been taken to implement a national employment injury scheme in Bangladesh based on the principles of Convention No. 121 and a mutual consensus on the core elements of the scheme. The operationalization of an Employment Injury Insurance (EII) scheme will inevitably take time, possibly two to three years at best. Until an EII scheme becomes operational and capable of collecting contributions and paying benefits, it is crucial that in case of another large-scale industrial accident such as the Rana Plaza collapse or the Tazreen building fire, a proper bridging solution be in place to provide for appropriate health care and compensation to the victims in an efficient and diligent manner and on a temporary basis.
Following series of consultations and ground work on legal framework, costing and bridging solution, a consultation meeting was conducted in Geneva in November 2017. The State Minister, Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) was the Chief Guest, and the Secretary in Charge, MoLE was the Chair.
In that meeting, the forum came up with a suggestion that a tripartite policy level committee on EII may further analyse the ground works done by the ILO and decide future steps for introducing an Employment Injury Insurance in Bangladesh. In late November 2017, in the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting, this proposal was endorsed and a notice issued to established a tripartite committee on EII. The committee is chaired by the Addtional Secretary, MoLE, and represented by Bangladesh Employers' Federation (BEF), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), National Coordination Committee for Workers' Education (NCCWE) and IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC).
The first meeting of the committee is expected to take place in early May 2018. The committee will come up with recommendations within two months from the first meeting which will be around July 2018. 

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 Following the disaster in Rana Plaza in 2013, where a garment factory collapsed, resulting in the loss of 1,136 lives, we were asked to develop a methodology for assessing the structural safety of the factories in Bangladesh.

Understanding the importance of the garment industry for the people of Bangladesh, employing more than four million people, we came up with a pragmatic approach for carrying out the structural safety assessments, focusing on critical life–safety issues.

Driving change

Post-Rana Plaza, we have supported a number of clients in driving an agenda of change. So far, we have inspected over 800 factories there for Inditex (Spanish retail group) and the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety - an umbrella organisation of clothing companies, employers and workers' representatives. We have provided clear advice on actions required to ensure the safety of the workers, including closure of a small number of facilities. In addition, we have overseen and provided a quality review role on an additional 750 fire, electrical and structural factory inspections which were commissioned by the International Labour Organisation on behalf of the Bangladesh Government. 

Bangladesh

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Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, architects, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment.

ARUP

Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. is a Spanish multinational clothing company headquartered in Arteixo, Galicia, in Spain. Inditex, the biggest fast fashion group in the world, operates over 7,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide. Subsidiaries include Zara, Bershka, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear.

Inditex

Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety

Following the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, ARUP were commissioned to design and test a rapid structural assessment methodology of the structural safety of textile factories in Bangladesh, lead the implementation and train local engineers to ensure it is used correctly. To date, ARUP’s methodology has been used to inspect 3,700 textile/garment factories in Bangladesh.&nbsp;

ARUP develop rapid methodology for assessing the structural safety of textile factories in Bangladesh 

This report by the international labour organisation takes stock of 32 countries around the globe, using multi-regional input-output analysis to model the transactions between 163 industries and quantify the skills needed to transition to sustainable energy and a circular economy. The report identifies the need for reskilling and upskilling to bring the green transition to fruition. It also analyses changes in occupations, skill gaps and shortages in meeting the skills demand of this transition, and highlights the progress made since 2011 in the surveyed countries. Finally, it cites the specific needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups to transition smoothly, as well as the skills policy makers should possess to support the process.

ILO report on jobs in the green transition

Ascertaining fair, equal and inclusive policies and working environments for employees plays a vital role in achieving circularity within the textiles and garment sectors. The ILO highlights the demand for gender equality within Asia's garment supply chain through the report 'Moving the Needle: Gender equality and decent work in Asia’s garment sector'. This report demonstrates the existing gender gaps, excavates the key issues impacting gender inequality within industry in Asia, and sets out Regional Road Maps in order to begin actioning the necessary changes needed.&nbsp;