From the Sector

For the third time, the GoodTextiles Foundation is realising a WASH community project together with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA). In cooperation with the CmiA-verified cotton company Sofitex, hand-operated pumps were installed in two villages in Burkina Faso/Africa to improve the drinking water supply. The three partners have also trained the villagers in the use of water, particularly with regard to disease prevention, hygiene and healthcare.

For the people in the villages of Sidi and Moukouma, daily life was a challenge: they had to walk between four and ten kilometres to get access to clean drinking water. They were often forced to resort to unsafe water sources such as rivers, which resulted in significant hygiene and health problems.

Following a comprehensive assessment of water scarcity at the project sites, two boreholes were drilled and hand-operated pumps installed. These are located in communal areas that are freely accessible to all and free of any private property and rights. Now the 3,000 inhabitants of both villages have unrestricted access to clean drinking water at all times - a real lifeline for the communities.

A water management committee was set up in each village. In the WASH training sessions, the participants were familiarised with the tasks and functions of the water committee. In addition, the villagers were given a better understanding of WASH practices and principles. They were also taught how to promote hygiene at the water points to ensure water quality. Finally, they were given the necessary maintenance tools for their work.

A total of 115 committed people, including 61 men and 54 women, took part in the training courses. They will now act as multipliers for WASH initiatives, water, sanitation and hygiene measures in their communities and pass on their knowledge. Each committee also received a toolkit for the maintenance of boreholes - so that this project is not just short-term help, but a sustainable improvement in living conditions.

The GoodTextiles Foundation is supporting the project with around €17,000.00.

As part of the European Erasmus+ project AddTex, the partner organisations organised several hackathons at the universities of Boras (Sweden), UPC (Spain), PIN (Italy) and TUS (Ireland) in May. The aim is to connect students with real challenges in the industry and promote innovation in the areas of ecology, sustainability, digitalisation and design. The participants had received basic information in advance through the 45 training videos and training sessions of the free and public Smart, Digital and Green Skills Academy at https://addtex.eu.

The hackathon at the Italian university PIN (Polo Universitario Città di Prato) was organised and held together with the technical textiles department of the Industrieverband Veredlung - Garne - Gewebe - Technische Textilien e.V. (IVGT). Eight teams competed to develop innovative, sustainable ideas in just a few hours for the German family business Schmitz Textiles GmbH & Co. KG, Emsdetten. Schmitz Textiles, an expert in complete textile solutions for indoor and outdoor use for over 100 years, plans to offer exclusively sustainable products in the medium term and is looking for solutions to continuously increase the existing recycled share of yarns to 100 per cent.

Stefan Schmidt from IVGT presented the challenge via Teams Conference: "We are looking for a new business model for textile recycling at awning manufacturer Schmitz-Textiles in order to increase the existing proportion of recycled yarns and go beyond the exclusive use of recycled PET bottles. Schmitz Textiles has had an awning fabric made from 100% recycled polyester in its range since the end of 2023. The medium-term goal is to switch the entire range of awning fabrics to 100% recycled yarns. The company is looking for suitable solutions to achieve this.

In small teams, the 30 students specialising in eco-design, textiles/sales and textiles/technology developed proposals and presented them in five-minute online pitches. Ralf Bosse for Schmitz Textiles and Iris Schlomski for the IVGT acted as the jury and assessed the individual presentations in the categories of degree of innovation, presentation, industrial application potential and potential for commercial success. Each idea presented and each presentation scored more or less points in the individual categories. In the end, the points scored were added up to determine the winning team, which can further develop its idea together with the company. For Schmitz Textiles, these are Eleonora Boccherini, Ilaria Ioja, Giorgio Gacci and Marianna Butera.

Fashion industry leaders, organizations, and government representatives came together for the 2nd Bangladesh Circular Economy Summit in Dhaka to exchange insights and expertise aimed at advancing circularity within the apparel and textiles sector in Bangladesh.

The Summit, organized by the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) in collaboration with German development cooperation agency GIZ and in association with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh at Radisson Blu Water Garden, Dhaka on June 11, spotlighted the importance and ways of transitioning from a linear economic model to one that prioritizes resource efficiency and waste reduction.

The discussions and engagement at the summit aimed at propelling the transition from a linear to a circular model in Bangladesh’s apparel and textile industries.

The summit began with an inaugural ceremony, followed by four insightful plenary sessions, three engaging panel discussions, and an innovative breakout session. Through these platforms, participants explored strategies to accelerate the adoption of circular practices within Bangladesh’s apparel and textile industries.

Speakers at the Opening ceremony

• H.E. Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Honorable Minister for Textiles & Jute, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,
• Mr. Siddiqur Rahman, former President of BGMEA
• Mr. Thijs Woudstra, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh
• Mr. Jan Janowski, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Germany in Bangladesh
• Mr. Mostafiz Uddin, Founder & CEO, Bangladesh Apparel Exchange