A new European report has identified 10 practical initiatives demonstrating how the textile and clothing industry is advancing sustainability, circularity, digitalisation, resilience and social responsibility.
Published on September 29, 2026, the Best Practices Report – Third Edition forms part of the Textiles Ecosystem Transition Pathway. The report was written by EY Belgium and CSIL for the European Commission and covers initiatives published on the EU Textiles Ecosystem Platform between February and June 2026.
Circularity Expands Beyond Textile-to-Textile Recycling
Several cases demonstrate how textile and leather waste can become a raw material for other industries through industrial symbiosis.
Italian company Pulvera uses pulverisation technology to process textile waste of different fibre compositions into materials suitable for textiles, furniture, automotive components and other applications. Its approach combines waste assessment, consulting and industrial production rather than treating textile scraps solely as an end-of-life problem.
In furniture and interior design, Planq and Kvadrat Really convert discarded textiles into panels, tabletops, seating components and acoustic products. Planq’s Rezign material contains approximately 50% textile waste, while Kvadrat Really processes around 550 tonnes of textile waste annually.
The latter’s Textile Tabletop is made with 70% textile waste and is estimated to generate 30% fewer carbon dioxide equivalent emissions than a conventional tabletop over its lifecycle.
The report also examines Italian companies SICIT and ILSA, which recover collagen-rich residues from leather production and convert them into fertilisers, agricultural biostimulants and other bio-based materials.
Repair Creates Environmental and Social Value
The United Repair Centre is presented as an example of how clothing repair can operate at scale while supporting social inclusion.
The Amsterdam-based company provides business-to-business repair services to global apparel brands. In 2024, it repaired an estimated 29,545 garments, generating reported carbon savings of 159,247 kilograms. By July 2025, the cumulative number of repaired items had reached 72,000.
Its workforce model is also designed around inclusion. According to the report, 63% of its tailors are women, 75% have refugee backgrounds and the team represents 18 nationalities.
MUD Jeans takes a different approach by building circularity into its product and commercial model. The company combines recycled cotton with its Lease-a-Jeans programme, allowing customers to lease, repair, return or retain their jeans.
Returned garments can be resold as vintage products or recycled into fibres for new denim. The report says 90% of the company’s jeans now contain post-consumer recycled cotton.
Brands Join Forces to Cut Supply-Chain Emissions
The European Outdoor Group’s Carbon Reduction Project illustrates how brands can work collectively on emissions that occur in shared supply chains.
The project has involved 26 European brands and engaged 21 production facilities. Participating suppliers received technical support to measure emissions, prepare reduction plans and implement improvements.
A total of 275 mitigation measures were agreed, covering process optimisation, investment in new technologies and the transition to renewable electricity.
At 10 facilities monitored over the longer term, emissions declined by 48.2 million kilograms of carbon dioxide between 2021 and 2024, representing a 66% reduction. The report notes that this result reflects both measures introduced through the project and initiatives that had already begun before it was launched.
Digital Microfactories Challenge Overproduction
Textile microfactories are identified as an emerging alternative to long, fragmented supply chains and volume-based production.
The model connects digital design directly with production, enabling garments to be manufactured locally and on demand. Instead of the conventional “design, make, sell” sequence, microfactories use a “design, sell, make” approach in which production begins after demand is confirmed.
The report highlights the Digital Textile Micro Factory developed by the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf, alongside commercial examples from Rodinia Generation and OMIMAI.
Rodinia’s automated O-FACTORY system occupies approximately 200 square metres and is designed to produce thousands of individual garments per day. German start-up OMIMAI is developing decentralised, made-to-measure production capable of operating from a lot size of one.
While the model may not be suited to all mass-production categories, the report sees opportunities in customisation, premium manufacturing, shorter lead times and local production.
Industrial Production and Strategic Autonomy
The report also examines how large-scale European textile manufacturing can improve environmental performance.
E. Miroglio’s operations in Bulgaria are presented as an example of industrial-scale spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing and apparel manufacturing combined with environmental management, certified materials, traceability and resource-efficiency measures.
Belgian technical textile producer Sioen represents another dimension of the transition: European strategic autonomy.
By maintaining several critical production stages in-house and largely within Europe, Sioen supplies protective and technical textiles for defence, firefighting, maritime safety, infrastructure and industrial applications. The company produces around 3.5 million protective and workwear garments annually.
Together, the 10 cases show that the textile transition is not dependent on one technology or business model. Progress is emerging through repair, recycled materials, industrial symbiosis, supply-chain cooperation, consumer education, cleaner manufacturing, digital production and strategically important technical textiles.
