Autumn Session: Setting the course for the textile circular economy

The National Council is expected to debate the Sauter motion ‘Effective Recycling of Textiles’ on 23 September . It aims to lay the foundations for the implementation of an industry-organised and -funded circular economy solution for textiles.

With Fabric Loop, the industry has already laid the groundwork for such a national solution. The aim is to bring together collection, sorting and fibre-to-fibre recycling, thereby keeping textile materials in the circular economy for as long as possible.

For this to work, all companies placing textiles on the Swiss market must participate – including foreign suppliers and online platforms. A purely voluntary solution cannot guarantee this. A legal framework is therefore required to create a level playing field for all.

In the run-up to the autumn session, Swiss Textiles has championed the motion in numerous discussions with politicians, associations and companies. The Federal Council also recommends its adoption.

For Swiss Textiles, one thing is clear: Switzerland has an established collection system. Now the conditions must be put in place to develop this into a functioning circular economy system.