In Switzerland, the voices are increasing to involve the textile industry in the costs of the growing old clothing mountains in order to finance a circular exploitation system on site. The Federal Government initially relies on a solution from the industry in this system of extended producer responsibility.
“Politicians prefer private sector solutions. Therefore, the federal government will not temporarily introduce a mandatory system and observe the development of the private industry organization,” writes a spokeswoman for the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU) at the request of Fashionunited.
The BAFU referred to the Fabric Loop industry initiative, which has come together since November. It independently builds up a circular economy system that is to be financed by companies with an early recycling contribution.
BUND has to recognize industry solution
However, it will not work without the participation of the federal government. Fabric Loop demands that all textile companies working in Switzerland should co -finance the circulatory management system designed by the industry. The paying of the contributions should be mandatory in order to avoid “free -riders”, says Nina Bachmann, President of Fabric Loop.
However, this can only happen if the federal government recognizes the “general liability of an industry solution”. To do this, it must include sufficient textile companies – this regulates the market coverage regulation in the changes to the Environmental Protection Act of March 2024. An industry agreement must cover at least 70 percent of the domestic market and at least 50 percent of the relevant domestic market participants in the relevant industry.
So far, 16 companies have signed Fabric Loop’s membership agreement, and others were shortly before, said Bachmann. Companies such as the Odlo and Mammut outdoor brands as well as underwear providers Calida are among the founding members. It considers at least 50 percent domestic market participants to gather at Fabric Loop. Covering at least 70 percent of the Swiss textile market is more difficult, but that still has to be looked at, she adds.
“It is difficult to explain the system, it definitely needs a lot of conversations, a lot of meat on the bone and examples so that people understand what this is about,” says Bachmann in a conversation with fashionunited. “It takes a little more time, but we are confident that we get more supporters: get inside.”
When could it start?
Fabric Loop has spoken to textile collection companies, municipalities and the BAFU since the beginning of the year. The association hopes to start the textile levy in early 2027. For this, the federal government would have to recognize the general liability of an industry solution in the second half of 2026.
In the meantime, Fabric Loop still has a lot to do. The industry initiative examines to what extent the textile waste incurred in Switzerland can be recycled in view of the energy costs or its quality, for example. A material flow analysis and ecological evaluation (Life Cycle Assessment) of the Swiss textile market is still in progress and is intended to bring more clarity into the incomplete data.
However, the customs numbers available so far refer to the product type of textiles – such as outerwear or home textile – but not on their material composition, says Bachmann. In order to close the cycle by sorting and recycling on site, information about the type and amount and composition of the materials that get to Switzerland and how they can be used further.
Practical questions also need to be clarified in the following months, for example: What goals could the members of Fabric Loop imagine for the circular economy system and what should it look like? What are the recyling contributions that occur and how should they be raised? And which IT system should be used for this? What is paid out first from the textile tax?
Circular economy as a business model
So far, almost 100,000 tons of textiles per year have been thrown away in Switzerland, as a report by the Federal Council published in April summarizes. Almost 40 percent of them end up in household waste and are burned directly. Of the 60,000 tons of old dresses collected, 60 percent would be even wearable, but only a small part is sorted in Switzerland because the personnel costs are too high.
A local circulatory system could prevent old textiles from being exported to other countries and causing damage. An early recycling contribution could help build a circular ecosystem with automated sorting systems and recycling machines in Switzerland. So far, these technologies are rarely profitable, but could represent future -oriented branches of business for the domestic textile industry.
“Swiss textile companies are already carrying out circulatory projects themselves, but they can hardly bring them to the market. This is simply too expensive if a company does it alone,” says Bachmann. She is also a member of the management of the SWISS Textile industry association and is responsible for the topics of sustainability and technology. “Such a system solution offers much greater opportunities to regulate responsibility centrally and to benefit with your own solutions that develop companies. It can also be a business case.”
Textile collection company under pressure
Time is urging a new system to sort and use old textiles. The previous system of the separate collection in Switzerland still seems to be working, but as in other European countries, it comes under pressure.
The amount of textiles thrown away has been increasing for years, while their quality decreases through more cheap fashion. In addition, people are increasingly selling higher -quality clothing online or adding to local boutiques. The income of the collection companies is falling per kilo. More and more countries also prohibit the import of old textiles because they harm the domestic industry and the environment, such as Uganda.
The revenues achieved have been under pressure since the outbreak of Corona pandemic. During the pandemic, many people cleaned up their wardrobes, but at the same time many national borders were closed for export – the oversupply led to falling prices for collected textiles. As a result, Texaid, for example, temporarily asked the municipality of Freienbach to do without its contractually due old clothing revenue of CHF 0.25 Swiss francs per kilo and acted a new contract with lower taxes, as an extract from a municipal consultant in October 2021 shows.
A matter of time
So a solution will soon have to be found. So far, the cantons were responsible for the disposal of AltTextil under the so -called settlement waste monopoly. They mostly handed this task to the communities, which in turn have commissioned private companies such as Texaid or Tell-Tex with the collection and recycling of old textiles.
The waste monopoly is now to be relaxed under certain conditions, then settlement waste should be collected by private providers in the future. This is recorded in the not yet final Article 31b paragraph 4 EUSG, the BAFU points out.
This legal change paves the way for a new and local circulatory system. In the European countries such as France and the Netherlands, a system of extended producer responsibility (EPR) has already been introduced, which involves textile companies with a recycling levy in the costs of disposing their products. The European Union also works on rules for the textile industry.
“An EPR system is created in the EU,” says Bachmann. “It is only a matter of time before Swiss communities are no longer willing to take responsibility for material utilization if all companies co -finance in the EU.”