This year’s EU Green Week took place under the motto “circulatory solutions for a competitive Europe”. The event examined how circular economy can become a new economic reality by promoting sustainable competitiveness, reducing waste and driving innovation within the EU.
The goal of the EU Green Week, which took place in Brussels last week, is to create a cleaner, more resistant and competitive Europe. The main topics of the expert: inside – including industry leaders: inside, representatives: inside of communities and other interest groups – were circulating economy, sustainability, innovation, resource efficiency and waste reduction. The session “maximizing the resistance through repair and reuse- solutions from the textile and electronics area” was particularly relevant for the textile and clothing industry and researched practical solutions to optimize resource use through reuse and repair.
Experiences and problem areas
“We are a network of Repair Café groups, i.e. volunteer groups that are in Flanders [Anm.d.Red.: Flämische Region Belgiens] Make up repairs, but we also try to support the professional repair companies by making access to them, ”said Rosalie Heens, coordinator at Repair & Share. For them, the current system is the problem:“ Repairs can cost as much or even more than a new purchase, which makes it difficult for repair companies to have a functioning business model, ”she said and referred to France, where repair premiums (local) repair companies are awarded and financed by the manufacturers. There are also other financial incentives.
Hanna Mattila, senior consultant for circular economy, shared insights from the Helsinki-Uusimaa regional council, which represents 26 municipalities or a third of the Finnish population. The circular hub focuses on textiles and electronics and has built up a network with various interest groups. Although secondhand is quite popular in Finland, one problem is that people buy second-handed articles and then throw them away very quickly. Although there are second-hand shops in shopping centers, there are still no repair workshops for textiles, but some for electronics, especially for mobile phones. As the first of its kind, Helsinki Airport even has a second-hand shop. “Easily accessible places where people really have to over, such as subway stations, are a few examples of solutions,” said Mattila.
Herwin, a collective of circular economy in Flanders, collects around 80,000 tons annually, of which 40,000 are sold, with most of the electronics and textiles. “In Belgium, the consumers are increasingly aware of the circulatory economic options, in fact it has been transferred to meat and blood to go into second-hand shops. But although we receive a lot more donations and sell more donations, there is a discrepancy because we no longer sell anymore; the gap between what is collected and what is sold is grown. More good or the people just don’t want to. “We also have to look at the manufacturers, because they flood the market with all these things and they spend billions for advertising so that people buy cheap goods.”
Barbara Deman spoke about her experience as a coordinator of repair and sharing initiatives in the Belgian city of Kortrijk, where a ‘Deelfabriek’ (Ndl.: Partial Fact) was set up, a shopping center for swapping objects such as books and clothing. Like Landyut, she also sees a real challenge in her work in the fact that fast-fashion clothing is not suitable for swapping or selling; “Fast fashion clothing reaches the end of her life cycle really quickly,” she said. The price of repairs is also a big obstacle for many: “The price is a very important thing. If it is cheaper to buy new, why should you reuse something? Many people think so where the price is the main goal.”
Moderator Cillian Lohan from the European platform of the interests of the circular economy (ECESP) agreed: “You cannot accuse people of choosing products that they can afford; I would have a completely different selection of things in my life if money did not matter. It is a reality that the costs of things with almost every purchase that we make. And to create activities within communities, so it is really important to highlight what works and what does not work here. “
Setting up resistance, value and prices as solutions
According to Heens’ opinion, “the prices for new products have to rise”. Another problem is that repair capabilities die out because the profession of repair operation takes a low status and fewer and fewer people want to exercise it. “We have to think about it and create incentives here too,” she warns.
Another major challenge is that consumers: Inside, do not know where they can have things repaired, since repair companies do not have the same budget for advertising as retailers: inside. That is why Repair & Share offers a repair card with professional and voluntary repair companies in Belgium and a placement platform.
“In our European E6 project, we also try to create physical places at six different locations where repair and reusing options are offered next to recycling options, so that people have all different options in the same place,” she adds. A major obstacle to repairs is that the price of spare parts in electronics can be higher than that of a new product. Repair & Share takes this into account in his “Repairability Index”.
“For me, resistance means independence; the resistance of Europe means to make us more and more independent from the outside in relation to all materials that we need, as far as we can reuse them. Of course, we have lower effects from an economic and ecological point of view, but on the other hand, the ability to regain some elements, some fundamental raw materials, will probably make us a little stronger,” says Landuyt.
For Francesca Nanni, professor of materials science and technology at the University of Rome, there is true resilience to enjoy the clothing we already have. “How can we learn to enjoy this clothing?”, She asks and adds that “new clothes are too cheap. We are in the middle of a climate and biodiversity crisis, which is not reflected in the prices.” For them, recycling and second -hand should not only be established to the environment, but also from the need.
The recording of this and other contributions from the EU Green Week can be found on the official website, green-week.event.europa.eu.