[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"settings":3,"$fSOcXiKwQJSgsXdcRz0u-DfcAVQIqJxhnd_iRVCQsv2o":82,"iRWe-ce":166,"$fr_vNDHto7jyPQUBbrM4IXr8RbTKKQ2SXNtF28stJJyw":189},{"data":4,"meta":81},{"id":5,"documentId":6,"createdAt":7,"updatedAt":8,"publishedAt":9,"nav_secondary":10,"nav_primary":11},74,"cq0rcn2xoi5no1yfyvbgyln1","2025-06-22T14:25:01.818Z","2026-05-26T16:26:38.254Z","2026-05-26T16:26:38.726Z",[],[12,18,46,51,56,76],{"id":13,"label":14,"url":15,"disable_label_url":16,"children_links":17},699,"About","/about",null,[],{"id":19,"label":20,"url":21,"disable_label_url":16,"children_links":22},703,"Focus areas","programmes",[23,26,30,34,38,42],{"id":24,"label":20,"url":25},1651,"/programmes",{"id":27,"label":28,"url":29},1652,"Cities & regions","/programmes/cities",{"id":31,"label":32,"url":33},1653,"Finance & economics","/programmes/finance",{"id":35,"label":36,"url":37},1654,"Textiles & fashion","/programmes/textiles",{"id":39,"label":40,"url":41},1655,"Jobs & 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Framework","2026-02-27T04:05:28.217Z",[126,132,138],{"article_id":83,"industry_id":127,"created_at":116,"updated_at":117,"industry":128},"waste_management",{"id":127,"name":129,"description":130,"sector":131},"Waste Management","Collecting waste from households and businesses by means of refuse bins, wheeled bins, containers, etc., and providing treatment, incineration, materials recovery and reclamation, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste","societal_services",{"article_id":83,"industry_id":133,"created_at":116,"updated_at":117,"industry":134},"research_commercial_services",{"id":133,"name":135,"description":136,"sector":137},"Research & Commercial Services","Providing various support services for businesses and governments, such as research, testing, certification and consulting services, cleaning and maintenance services, security and protection services, legal, accounting and bookkeeping services, information management, data processing, and business process outsourcing services","professional_services",{"article_id":83,"industry_id":139,"created_at":116,"updated_at":117,"industry":140},"fashion_and_textiles",{"id":139,"name":141,"description":142,"sector":143},"Fashion and Textiles","Producing textile and leather products and processing them into apparel and accessories","goods_and_services",[145],{"article_id":83,"location_id":146,"created_at":116,"updated_at":117,"location":147},"2400555",{"id":146,"type":148,"name":149,"color":16,"parent_location_id":150,"created_at":151,"updated_at":16},"city","Franceville","GAB","2026-02-27T07:54:47.162Z",[],[],[155],{"id":156,"score":157,"body":158,"status":163,"article_id":83,"created_at":116,"updated_at":117,"published_at":164},"sdOl",0,{"image":159,"title":160,"content":161,"summary":95,"attachment":162,"imageCaption":95},"https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/1777380773930-FpfHaEjx.jpg","Closing the Footwear Loop: Building a circular future for shoes","\u003Cp id=\"\">The footwear industry is still dominated by a take-make-discard model. In Europe alone, close to \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/circularity-of-the-eu-textiles-value-chain-in-numbers#:~:text=While%20exports%20of%20used%20textiles,used%20textiles%20from%20the%20EU.\">1.2 million tonnes of footwear\u003C/a> are discarded every year. Of this, an estimated \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/life/publicWebsite/project/LIFE19-ENV-ES-000118/demonstration-of-a-new-business-and-consumption-model-for-the-circular-economy-in-the-footwear-sector\">80% is landfilled or incinerated, 15% is reused, and only 5% is recycled\u003C/a>. This low recycling rate is the result of several persistent barriers: the lack of dedicated recycling solutions, technological limitations, and the complex design of shoes, which makes disassembly and material identification extremely difficult. On top of this, weak demand for recovered materials and the absence of price and policy incentives prevent recycling from becoming economically viable.\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">Another major challenge is a lack of understanding of what happens to footwear after use. Currently, there is no granular data on footwear waste composition. Such information would be critical for tailoring recycling technologies to the most common materials and assembly methods. Thus, gathering this data is a crucial first step towards building a circular footwear industry.\u003C/p>\u003Ch3 id=\"\">Launching the \u003Cem id=\"\">Closing the Footwear Loop\u003C/em> project\u003C/h3>\u003Cp id=\"\">With this in mind, \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.fashionforgood.com/\">Fashion for Good\u003C/a> launched the \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.fashionforgood.com/case-study/closing-the-footwear-loop/\">\u003Cem id=\"\">Closing the Footwear Loop\u003C/em>\u003C/a> project, bringing together 17 leading fashion and footwear brands and their existing circularity programmes. The initiative aims to tackle the complex barriers to circularity in the footwear industry and support the transition from a linear ‘take-make-dispose’ model to a circular one.\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">At Circle Economy, we developed a dedicated methodology for Phase one of the project, which focuses on mapping the post-consumer waste stream. Our role was to bridge knowledge gaps and generate insights needed to support circular initiatives. The process began with understanding stakeholder needs and the required level of data detail. We typically work backwards from industry challenges—combining stakeholder input, literature review, and knowledge of existing end-of-use pathways—to design methodologies that deliver the most relevant insights. \u003C/p>\u003Cfigure id=\"\" class=\"w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-fullwidth\" style=\"max-width:4284px\" data-rt-type=\"image\" data-rt-align=\"fullwidth\" data-rt-max-width=\"4284px\">\u003Cdiv id=\"\">\u003Cimg id=\"\" alt=\"__wf_reserved_inherit\" src=\"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5d26d80e8836af2d12ed1269/68e39946aed0c1afa83fb775_IMG_8116.jpg\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003C/div>\u003Cfigcaption id=\"\">‍\u003Cem id=\"\">Manual Data collection station- providing our sorters with a detailed description of archetypes, definitions and images of examples in each category to avoid human error as much as possible\u003C/em>\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\u003Cp id=\"\">‍\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">This approach builds on years of experience from projects such as \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.fashionforgood.com/our_news/sorting-for-circularity-europe-project-findings/\">\u003Cem id=\"\">Sorting for Circularity Europe\u003C/em>\u003C/a>, \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.fashionforgood.com/sorting-for-circularity-india-toolkit/\">\u003Cem id=\"\">Sorting for Circularity India\u003C/em>\u003C/a>, and \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.fashionforgood.com/case-study/sorting-for-circularity-rewear/\">\u003Cem id=\"\">Sorting for Circularity Rewear\u003C/em>\u003C/a>. These methodologies have proven valuable not only for our teams but also for stakeholders worldwide who seek to understand waste streams and the nuances of textile waste management. Importantly, they allow us to engage directly on the ground, observing how culture, geography, and infrastructure shape waste ecosystems in real time. \u003C/p>\u003Ch3 id=\"\">Methodology in action\u003C/h3>\u003Cp id=\"\">To capture the full complexity of footwear waste, we combined visual inspection, manual sorting tools, and digital instruments. Alongside this, we tested early-stage technologies to evaluate their feasibility and accuracy. For composition identification, we worked with handheld and desktop near-infrared devices developed by \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.matoha.com/\">Matoha\u003C/a>. \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://cetia.tech/home-en/\">CETIA’s\u003C/a> ID Shoes and Sensorhub were used for disruptor detection and image capture, while additional data points were collected manually on-site. \u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">The manual sorting process took place at \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://cetia.tech/home-en/\">CETIA's\u003C/a> facility in Hendaye in late July. Over the course of one week, we experimented with the methodology to refine it and improve productivity. Each shoe was analysed against 13 individually captured data points—or more for multi-layered shoes—including archetype, material composition, disruptors, assembly techniques, damage, and other characteristics relevant for understanding post-consumer footwear waste. In total, we analysed a random sample of 1,500 non-rewearable shoes, ensuring as diverse a representation as possible of footwear currently being discarded. \u003C/p>\u003Ch3 id=\"\">Early insights\u003C/h3>\u003Cp id=\"\">Our findings shed light on the scale of the challenge.  Shoes overwhelmingly featured glued bonding methods, carbon black pigments, and a high proportion of synthetic and composite materials—all of which significantly complicate recycling. These materials and design features remain major barriers to developing effective footwear recycling infrastructure and technologies. \u003C/p>\u003Cfigure id=\"\" class=\"w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-fullwidth\" style=\"max-width:3024px\" data-rt-type=\"image\" data-rt-align=\"fullwidth\" data-rt-max-width=\"3024px\">\u003Cdiv id=\"\">\u003Cimg id=\"\" alt=\"__wf_reserved_inherit\" src=\"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5d26d80e8836af2d12ed1269/68e39973f9283f29b7c522fe_IMG_1122.jpg\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003C/div>\u003Cfigcaption id=\"\">\u003Cem id=\"\">Tanvi, our textile strategist at the CETIA facility, dissecting shoes during the on-ground study\u003C/em>\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\u003Cp id=\"\">‍\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">At the same time, the prevalence of common archetypes such as lifestyle and performance shoes offers potential entry points for innovation. If design-for-recycling principles are adopted upstream, these categories could be leveraged to build scalable circular solutions. From here, for Phase two of the Closing the Footwear Loop Project, \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://circular.fashion/\">\u003Cem id=\"\">circular.fashion\u003C/em>\u003C/a>\u003Cem id=\"\"> \u003C/em>is developing circular design principles to establish a comprehensive roadmap for circular footwear design. Lastly, in Phase three promising end-of-use innovations will be validated in joint pilots\u003C/p>\u003Ch3 id=\"\">What’s next\u003C/h3>\u003Cp id=\"\">The full findings will be shared in an upcoming report summarising the outcomes of the \u003Cem id=\"\">Closing the Footwear Loop\u003C/em> project. Beyond offering a snapshot of today’s footwear waste landscape, the report will highlight opportunities for recycling innovation, infrastructure development, and policy interventions that can accelerate circularity in the footwear sector. \u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">Ultimately, \u003Cem id=\"\">Closing the Footwear Loop\u003C/em> is not just about managing waste—it’s about reimagining how shoes are designed, produced, and recovered. By working collaboratively across the value chain, we can move closer to a future where every shoe has a second life, and circularity becomes the norm rather than the exception.\u003C/p>",[],"published","2025-10-16T09:39:23.000Z",false,[167,174,179,184],{"id":168,"title":169,"type":170,"image":171,"isCE":172,"edit":165,"date":173},"UV0R","Reusable packaging systems for a circular economy\n","business_case","https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/VjT5CiqpJVn_G3CE.jpg",true,"2026-06-09T09:43:16.938Z",{"id":175,"title":176,"type":170,"image":177,"isCE":172,"edit":165,"date":178},"0gqD","Reducing e-waste through circular device management \n","https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/pSCf6c4oQ2hDUdcK.jpg","2026-06-09T10:26:15.086Z",{"id":180,"title":181,"type":170,"image":182,"isCE":172,"edit":165,"date":183},"J0jV","Reducing food waste through B2B surplus trading platforms","https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/2UKtqTyExw0fHSbD.jpg","2026-06-09T10:25:59.641Z",{"id":185,"title":186,"type":170,"image":187,"isCE":172,"edit":165,"date":188},"n_RZ","Food waste to omega-3","https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/WsYU7jtQ0XVZ-zgY.jpg","2026-06-09T12:01:08.294Z",{"likeCount":157,"isLiked":165}]