Area of Activity II: Innovation and Technology

Re-Born Textiles – The development of an innovative and sustainable system for urban textile waste management

The fashion industry is one of the main contributors to environmental pollution. Around ten percent of urban waste consists of textiles, yet only a small proportion of these are disposed of sustainably and re-used. The Re-Born Textiles exchange initiative aims to develop an innovative, sustainable system of urban textile waste management.

Participants
15 experts and entrepreneurs each from the fashion and textile industries and from the circular economy, as well as representatives from urban local authorities


Project content

Israel and Germany are both prosperous countries, where overconsumption has become a part of everyday life. Clothing in particular, which is being offered at increasingly low prices, is offered and sold in enormous quantities, only to be quickly replaced by a new, cheap item of clothing. What happens to the huge amounts of textile waste that result? Is it being collected in the right places, which are easily accessible to citizens? What innovative opportunities are available to dispose of this waste ecologically or to re-use it, instead of funding expensive, harmful waste dumps?

The goal of the Re-Born Textiles project is to establish urban centers where old textiles are collected, sorted in an innovative way and re-used. Germany can already reference successful developments in the field of the circular economy, which could be used as an example for Israel. Israeli technologies and inventions can contribute to the optimization of the infrastructure for innovative, profitable textile management.

German and Israeli experts from the fashion and textile industries and from the circular economy and from urban local authorities will discuss the issues surrounding an optimum system.


Project methods
Participants will first meet digitally in small working groups and discuss the program content, including the concept of the “circular city”, optimum and environmentally friendly textile recycling and collaboration between all the industrial sectors and organizations involved.

Using examples from Berlin and Tel Aviv, where two workshops will also take place, the aim is to examine which concepts can be successfully and efficiently implemented.


Project goals
As a result of this project, a new network will be created consisting of experts and entrepreneurs in the industries involved from Israel and Germany. Participants will learn about local textile recycling initiatives in Germany and Israel. The aim is to initiate an exchange about new concepts and solutions for the most severe problems and challenges in the textile industry, and to optimize them through collaboration. A dialog will be initiated between the city authorities in Berlin and Tel Aviv.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Responsible Consumption and Production
Climate Action
Life Below Water
Life on Land
Partnerships to achieve the Goal
Kooperationspartner
Re-Fresh Global, The Israeli Center for Circular Textiles
Circular Berlin