CISUTAC Newsletter

From Prototype to Practice: Testing the Zipper Repair Station in Real-Life Conditions

At project partner De Kringwinkel, the CISUTAC zipper repair station is being tested in real-life conditions, allowing the innovation to be embedded directly into reuse operations. Starting with jackets, particularly those with open-end zippers that are easier to access and replace, the team is testing the station using De Kringwinkel’s own unsellable stock.

With the ability to handle minor fixes, component replacements, and full zipper replacements, the repair station is empowering staff to tackle repairs that were previously too time-consuming or difficult to perform. It is also creating new opportunities for inclusive employment, giving people without professional sewing backgrounds the chance to participate in the repair economy. The results are already impressive, with over 120 customer repairs completed and many garments restored and resold under the ‘CISUTAC x Kringwinkel’ label.

Read our full article to discover how this innovation is being tested in real-life conditions at De Kringwinkel, where it’s already helping to save high-quality garments from being discarded just because of broken zippers.

Read the full article

CISUTAC’s decision support tool for post-consumer textiles on reuse and repair

CISUTAC partners Wargön Innovation and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden worked on a unique dataset, comprising 32 000 garments, to develop an AI model for collecting, sorting, and recycling used textiles. By analysing this vast dataset and recognizing intricate patterns in garment attributes, such as garment type, condition, and style, our CISUTAC model can classify textiles more efficiently, optimising their allocation to suitable streams such as reuse, repair, refurbishment, recycling, or remake.

CISUTAC workstations in action!

CISUTAC partners from Centexbel and Textile ETP visited Kringwinkel Antwerpen's central warehouse to discover the logistics behind their post-consumer textile activities. A great opportunity to witness first hand CISUTAC firefighter suit disassembly workstation that enables the efficient removal of high-visibility stripes and streamline the entire workflow.

CISUTAC publishes guidelines for local embedding

Based on best practices around Europe, our CISUTAC partner ACR+ (Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management) published a document providing an overview of the key instruments within the reach of local and regional authorities to improve the circularity of textile material flows, especially via citizens and engagement.

CISUTAC ran a clothes donation campaign in Ireland

In February 2025, as part of CISUTAC, our partner Oxfam Ireland ran the "Do Good. Donate" campaign to remove barriers to increasing textile circularity in Europe. People based in Ireland were encouraged to donate their preloved items in different shops across the countries and online. Following this campaign, Oxfam will report on the results, so stay tuned!

CISUTAC’s results showcased to industry and research organisations

In March 2025, CISUTAC project coordinator, Lien Van der Schueren from Centexbel, shared key insights from the project at the Textile ETP on Tour workshop in Tourcoing, France. Lien gave an overview of the firefighter suit disassembly workstation that aims to achieve an output of 10 kilograms of aramid per hour. She also highlighted CISUTAC’s efforts to close the loop on technical textiles, developing fibre-to-fibre recycling solutions for polyester used in protective and performance textiles.

ECOSYSTEX, the European Community of Practice for a Sustainable Textile Ecosystem, launched in early 2023, counts now 56 EU-funded member projects.

Since our previous newsletter issue, we welcomed 14 new projects focusing on textile sustainability!

Save the Date: ECOSYSTEX Conference 2025

The third ECOSYSTEX Conference will take place as a physical event on 29 September-1 October in Gothenburg, Sweden, in partnership with RISE Institute of Sweden. This event will bring together experts, innovators, and industry leaders to explore new technologies and business models for textile circularity. What to expect:

Two days of insightful discussions, networking, and collaboration
Interactive sessions led by PESCO-UP, SOLSTICE, tExtended, Hemp4Circularity, and BioFibreLoop
A showcase by WhiteCycle, featuring their latest PET recycling innovations and sample exhibits
Exclusive visits to the research facilities at RISE and the DO-tank centre in Science Park Borås

We are still fine-tuning the programme, and registrations will open in late spring. For now, mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details!

The ECOSYSTEX Insights Series continues!

Explore the latest in textile sustainability and circularity research and innovation! This 14th ECOSYSTEX webinar will spotlight EU-funded projects working to transform the textile sector through cutting-edge solutions, from textile-to-textile recycling to bio-based materials and innovative LCA approaches.

Hear directly from experts at adidas, CITEVE, BTG, and CERTH as they share progress, insights, and results from their respectively initiatives T-REX, Waste2BioComp, ALIGNED, and VERDEinMED.

Register for the ECOSYSTEX Insights #14

Discover the upcoming ECOSYSTEX events

Since our last newsletter issue, three other dissemination webinars have already been organised, presenting the different projects that make the ECOSYSTEX community, their objectives and outcomes. If you could not join us for these events or if you would like to watch them again, the recordings are available below:

ECOSYSTEX Membership is open to running European-funded projects focusing on textile sustainability and circularity, or concluded projects meeting the same criteria. For more information about the membership, contact Textile ETP.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No. 101060375.

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