Keeping Clothing in the Loop
Sector: Secondary sector · Industry: Textile and clothing industry · Organisation: Fashion for Good, adidas, Kering, Zalando, Laudes Foundation · Maturity level: Pilot
Circle Economy (Amsterdam) is a circular-economy NGO researching blockchain-based material traceability for the textile industry as part of the Sorting for Circularity project. Blockchain makes it possible to document textile batches end-to-end — from fiber through production to end of life and recycling — a prerequisite for a truly circular textile economy.
Documentation status
- Project status: Pilot
- Evidence: Evidence medium
- Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 15 April 2026
Description
Circle Economy (Amsterdam) is a leading European think tank and implementation NGO for circular economy. The Sorting for Circularity project investigated how blockchain can lead the textile industry into a genuine circular economy.
The fundamental problem of textile circular economy: To recycle a garment at the end of its life, you need to know what fibres it consists of (cotton, polyester, blends), which dyes and finishing agents were used, and how it was processed. This information is not available today. The EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) is intended to change that: From 2025, textiles must have a DPP containing material composition, origin, and recycling instructions. Blockchain is the natural infrastructure for this: raw material suppliers document fibre composition on-chain; spinning mills add processing steps; dyers add dye types; garment manufacturers write the final product profile; at consumer return, the sorting facility can immediately read which recycling process is suitable. Circle Economy researches these questions in the Sorting for Circularity project and published articles in the Circle Economy Knowledge Hub.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
Textile manufacturers and fashion companies can meet EU DPP requirements with blockchain-secured material passports and enable genuine circular economy — recyclers immediately know what they are dealing with.