Textiles and clothing are essential to our everyday life, but are also the fourth largest global contributor to resource use and greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental impacts related to the textiles system include resource use, land use, climate change and pollutants. Reducing these pressures from textiles production and consumption requires a systemic change towards circularity*. Join Recyclers’ Talks #2 to discuss what is needed to achieve a true circularity in textiles while lowering the impacts on the environment & climate and find out how different players in the textiles chain can contribute to this goal.

*EEA Briefing: Textiles in Europe’s circular economy

Keynote Opening Interventions (10h00 – 10h30)

• Mariska ZANDVLIET, President of EuRIC Textiles – Opening Words
• Maria RINCON LIEVANA, Policy Officer, European Commission, DG Environment, Circular Economy and Green Growth, Sustainable Production, Products and Consumption (ENV.B.1)
• Delara BURKHARDT, Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for an EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation

Panel Discussion with Q&As from the audience (10h30 – 11h15)

• Maria RINCON LIEVANA, Policy Officer, European Commission, DG Environment, Circular Economy and Green Growth, Sustainable Production, Products and Consumption (ENV.B.1)
• Mariska ZANDVLIET, President, EuRIC Textiles
• Jonas EDER-HANSEN, Public Affairs Director, Global Fashion Agenda
• Valeria BOTTA, Program Manager, Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS)

Keynote Closing Intervention (11h15 – 11h25)

• Jan HUITEMA, Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for the own-initiative Report on the new Circular Economy Action Plan

Concluding Remarks (11h25 – 11h30)

• Emmanuel KATRAKIS, Secretary General of EuRIC

The event will be moderated by Kira TAYLOR, Journalist @EURACTIV