Accelerating Circularity Shares ‘Commitment to Action’ at CGI
More than 90 million tons of textiles end up in landfills yearly, while another 116 million tons of new fibers are produced. While the discarded duds release harmful gasses into the environment, manufacturing new ones has its own host of environmentally damaging consequences. Accelerating Circularity hopes a new global commitment will change that.
The circular supply chain nonprofit debuted this “Commitment to Action” at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2024 annual meeting.
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Dubbed Building Circular Systems, the pledge aims to “transform the textile industry” by embracing circular solutions instead of defaulting to discarding or recycling efforts. The New York-based group said it will do so by focusing on three initiatives.
The first will see Accelerating Circularity collaborate with brand, retail and manufacturing partners in the United States and Europe to recycle 325 tons of used textiles: 150 tons of cotton, 100 tons of polyester and 75 tons of other fibers. The goal, the organization said, is to create a “strong market” where recycled textiles are used to produce the new goods that consumers want to buy.
The platform will outline the “entire recycling ecosystem” in a comprehensive map for the second initiative. This map will “pinpoint” every player in the space—including collectors, sorters, processors, recyclers, fiber producers, yarn spinners, fabric mills and product manufacturers repurposing used textiles into new fibers—in efforts to “streamline” the recycling process by identifying the most effective pathways of converting these materials into new products.
Lastly, educational resources will be developed to help both brands and consumers understand what to do with textiles once they reach the end of their useful life.
“I’m honored to lead this important initiative to change the textile industry. Our work, amplified by the Clinton Global Initiative, will help us make a difference by reducing waste and pollution and promoting sustainability worldwide,” said Karla Magruder, founder and president of Accelerating Circularity. “We invite businesses, organizations and individuals to join us in this effort and help create a more sustainable future for textiles.”
The commitment was launched at CGI and should be completed by March 2026. Until then, Accelerating Circularity plans on leveraging its existing relationships—and fostering new ones—to “build the use” of circular systems, create more market opportunities and help industry players reduce their environmental footprint.
“It’s important to note that circularity goes beyond traditional recycling,” the nonprofit said in a statement. “While recycling typically involves reprocessing materials to create the same or similar products, circularity encompasses a broader system, where materials are used and reused for as long as possible, reimagining them into new forms and only recycling as a last resort.”
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