Workshop

Flaws in the Flow: Investigating gaps in the governance of European textile waste exports

Date

Thursday 30 May 2024

Time

10:00 - 17:00 hour

Address

Schouwburgstraat
Schouwburgstraat 2
2511 VA The Hague

Room

Living Lab

Who is this workshop for?

The purpose of the workshop is to gather practitioners, researchers, private and public actors operating within the textile waste supply and distribution chains, in the Netherlands, Europe and their main destination countries. The workshop is geared to propitiate a dialogue between the multiple actors involved in post-consumer textile flow, like fashion companies, collectors, recyclers, second-hand shop keepers, public administrators, researchers, knowledge and/or civil society organizations.

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What is the problem that motivates this workshop?

Although smaller in size and location compared to other European countries, The Netherlands still plays a role in exporting tonnes of textile waste both to other European countries and countries beyond the EU, in Asia and Africa mainly. As the result of a project on the Governance of European Textile Waste, the objective of the 'Flaws in the flow' workshop is to identify the systemic issues surrounding this transfer of textile waste from different perspectives, combining the academic and practitioners' knowledge needed to reduce it.

Why join the workshop 'Flaws in the Flow'?

If you are concerned and working in reducing the amount of textile waste produced in the Netherlands and exported to other European countries and beyond, this workshop is an opportunity for you to: 

• Gain information about post-consumer textile waste and the role of the Netherlands in post-consumer textile export from legal, institutional, economic, societal and cultural perspectives. 
• Share your knowledge and expertise on this issue, during the workshop interactive sessions and and through informal conversations  
• Join a network of academic and non-academic organizations aimed at lobbying and working on textile waste reduction.

What do we hope to get out of this workshop?

The 'Flaws in the Flow' workshop has two primary objectives:

1. To create the opportunity to take stock of existing knowledge on post-consumer textile exports and expand on that knowledge by co-designing an agenda for future action and research.
2. To initiate the formation of a diverse network of practitioners and scholars able to collaborate in future research on this topic aimed at influencing future policies, advance regulatory frameworks and support practitioners and civil society organizations active in reducing textile waste to contrast its related social and environmental injustices. 

Programme

09.30 - 10.00 Intro to the workshop 10.00 - 12.00 What we know about post-consumer textile (waste) 10:00- 10:25  Textile flows and open questions: Arjan de Koning  10:25-10:40  Q&A and input from participants   10:40 – 10:55  Regulatory framework and regulatory voids in the Netherlands and Europe 10:55 – 11:20  Q&A and input from participants   11:20 – 11:45  Corporate narratives on post-consumer textile  11:45 – 12:00  Q&A and input from participants  12.00 - 13.00 Lunch 13.00 - 13.45 Interactive session 1: Networking exercise:  What is your place in the flow  With whom do you interact in the flow  Where are the flows in the flow that affect you   13.45 - 14.15 Feedback and plenary debate   14.15 - 14.30 Coffee break  14.30 – 15.30  Interactieve session 2:Dynamic breakout groups   What's in the baile? Who decides  about it and how can it be influenced? Incentives and constrains  15.30 - 16.00 Pitches and plenary discusssion: Learning from one another and the possibilities of policy  16:00 – 16:10  Break  16:10 - 17:00  Future steps: possibilities for research consortium and collaborations  Closing   17.00 – 18.00   Borrel

The research team

If you have any questions, please check here for more information about our project, and be in touch with any member of our team:

• Antonella Maiello: [e-mail]
• Arjan de Koning: [e-mail]
• Glenn Aguilar-Hernandez
• Daniela Vicherat Mattar: [e-mail]
• Elena Bondarouk
• Kiki van Sluijs: [e-mail]

More information

Visit our research pages to learn more about the The Governance of European Textile Waste Export project.

If you have any questions, please contact [e-mail] for more information about our project.

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