Each year, the global garment industry produces 62 million tonnes of clothing, with consumption expected to surge by 63% by 2030. Textiles rank among the top categories for water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Despite shifting attitudes, consumption remains unsustainable, with 70% of wardrobes underutilized and billions of tonnes discarded annually in landfills or incinerators due to limited recycling technologies.
SOLSTICE is dedicated to addressing these pressing social and technical challenges by creating four scalable systemic solutions aimed at advancing climate-neutral and circular economy practices within the textile industry. Our approach encompasses a comprehensive 5R strategy - Refuse/Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Repurpose, Recycle - to encompass all facets of textile waste prevention and management. SOLSTICE will conduct demonstrations in 4 EU cities and regions. These demonstrations will serve as living laboratories, allowing us to test and refine our innovative 5R approaches in real-world settings.
Key objectives are:
Minimize and transform textile waste into renewable resources for the EU textile industry Information Gaps: SOLSTICE aims to develop a replicable awareness plan for territories, encouraging citizens to shift their shopping behaviour from fast fashion to sobriety, and inform individuals about ways to extend the lifespan of their clothes.
Boost the value of newly collected textile waste through smart sorting: SOLSTICE is developing a pioneering method for sorting textile waste using online spectroscopy analysis which enables precise sorting based on colour, composition, and fabric/garment type. The goal is to refine sorting processes to optimize chemical recycling, which minimises incineration and landfill disposal.
Highlight the reusability of textile polymers, coatings and high-value plastics through chemical recycling: the SOLSTICE project aims to innovate with a new eco and cost-efficient chemical recycling technologies that will be able to process textile and plastic materials that cannot be nowadays recycled under
mild conditions.
Analyse the benefits of better textile collection, sorting, and recycling, facilitating the adoption of solutions across the value chain: SOLSTICE is developing a traceability system based on the Mineral Textile Profile (MTP) that will provide the basis for the Digital Product Passport (DPP), which can improve supply chain traceability and transparency.
Enable the broad implementation of SOLSTICE solutions: SOLSTICE takes a holistic approach by rethinking the entire textile and plastics value chain to ensure scalability and replicability, while aiming to organise new governance for the circular economy. This approach facilitates co-creation among stakeholders, citizens, local authorities, and companies, fostering collaboration with relevant initiatives such as the ECOSYSTEX project.
