Moving the Mediterranean textile and fashion industry towards greener and circular business models

Organized by: Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee & UNIDO and MedWaves

The fashion industry has created one of the largest consumer goods markets, with highly sophisticated value chains of significant economic importance. In the OECD countries, the fashion is the second largest market for consumer goods after food. It follows that such a large industry has an enormous impact on the environment. The fashion industry is thought to be one of the most polluting industries in the world (UN News, March 2019). Besides the high water and carbon footprint, the sector makes intensive use of chemicals that are not only hazardous to the environment and humans, but also represent a major obstacle to textile recycling. Rising global demand for textiles for various end user applications has made natural fibers increasingly scarce and a critical cost factor. In response to sustainability challenges, spurred also by growing consumer awareness of the impacts of garment production, global brands are seeking better alternatives including renewable and recycled fibers, cleaner production processes and circular business models.  One of the aspects central to the implementation of circular economy practices in the fashion industry is related to raw material consumption. The manufacturing of garments generates huge amounts of textile waste along the supply chain, both at post-industrial and at post-consumer level. This conference will discuss how businesses have launched platforms and collaborations in order to reach circularity targets such as implementing recycling technologies and increasing the use of sustainably produced fibers and implementing safer chemical protocols.

Session Chairs

Ms. Roberta De Palma, Chief Technical Advisor at UNIDO
Ms. Anna Ibañez de Arolas, Project Manager at MedWaves

Programme

11.30-11.35 Welcoming
Ms. Roberta De Palma, Chief Technical Advisor at UNIDO

11.35-11.45 Keynote Speech
Representative from EURATEX (TBD)

11.50-11.58 SwitchMed pilot projects from Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, in collaboration with the ZDHC Foundation, targeting safer chemical protocols in the textile industry.
Ms. Elisa Gavazza, Southern Europe Hub Manager at ZDHC Foundation

11.58-12.06 Safer chemical management in the textile industry and the impacts of hazardous chemicals on the circularity in the textile value chain
Ms. Marie Louis Bishara, President of the Apparel Export Council of Egypt (TBC)

12.06-12.14 Sustainability challenges and opportunities of the industry in the North African Region: Strategic partnerships and collaborations to advance circularity, traceability and transparency in the textile waste recycling value-chain.
Ms. Sara Mariani, Corporate Sustainability Manager at OTB

12.14-12.22 Circular business opportunities in Tunisia? What is needed to support textile and garment industries in Tunisia in becoming the suppliers of the future?
Mr. Haithem Bouajila, Managing Director at Tunicotex

12.22-12.30 Circular business models for valorizing post-industrial textile waste and business opportunities for localizing recycling value-chains in the Mediterranean.
Mr. Khalid Kairouch, Production manager at EVLOX

12.35-12.45 Circular business opportunities in the south Mediterranean: how can businesses lead the way to sustainable fashion? 
Ms. Ferda Ulutas Isevi, Sustainability and Circular Economy consultant

12.45-12.55 Case Study 1: Circular business models for post-consumer textile waste: attaining the sustainability triple bottom line, integrating and scaling up entrepreneurship in Lebanon.
Mr. Omar Itani, CEO and Founder at Fabric Aid

12.55-13.05 Case Study 2: Recovering resources after disposal: eco-innovative recovering value and upcycling strategies in the fashion sector in Egypt. 
Ms. Mai Hossam, Founder and Managing Partner at Darjee

13.05-13.10 Closure (by the chairs)