Goal 3 – Sustainable Textiles Switzerland

Circular economy.

Promote innovative business models towards a circular economy.

Textile waste becomes a resource: as a founding member of Fabric Loop, we are committed to a Swiss circular system for textiles.

Goal 3 of Sustainable Textiles Switzerland

Our textile value chain

The circular economy affects every stage of our value chain – from design to recycling.

The workfashion textile value chain in six stages: Design, Raw materials, Production, Manufacturing, Wear & Care, Take-back, Recycling & Reuse

Hover over or tap a stage to see more.

1 Design: From design to finished garment

From the idea to the design, then from the pattern to the first prototype and on to the finished product.

2 Raw materials: Cultivation of natural fibres and production of synthetic fibres

Raw material sourcing, from the cultivation of natural fibres and the production of synthetic fibres to spinning the fibres into yarn for weaving and knitting.

3 Production: From yarn to fabric production, including dyeing process

The yarns are woven or knitted into fabrics at the weaving or knitting mill, then dyed, or refined beforehand through yarn dyeing, and finished.

4 Manufacturing: From fabric to finished garment

The fabrics are cut, the cut pieces are printed or embroidered and then sewn together.

5 Wear & Care: In use by our customers and in laundries

Our workwear is put to the test every day, whether being worn or in the laundry, which is why we place great importance on using durable materials!

6 Take-back, Recycling & Reuse: Returning garments to the circular economy

The aim is to keep garments in use for a long time, to repair them and, in the long term, to recover the fibre through recycling so that it can be used again for garments.

Closing the loop.

Founding member of Fabric Loop

There is still no nationwide solution for recycling textiles in Switzerland. Instead of waiting for one, we are working across stakeholders to build it: in November 2024, together with seven companies from the textile and clothing industry, we founded the Fabric Loop association. Many other textile companies, initiatives and recycling firms have since joined the alliance to build a Switzerland-wide system for collecting, sorting and recovering textiles.

The Fabric Loop roadmap has been adopted. The motion was passed by the National Council in 2026. By 2035, 100% of textiles in Switzerland are to be sorted, 60% reused or recycled, and no textiles are to be landfilled any more. At the same time, we actively advise our customers on recycling their workwear.

Solutions

Roadmap

Our goal by 2030

We generate 30% of our sales with products designed according to the principles of the circular economy.

Where we stand today

We have built partnerships with recycling companies such as Tell-Tex and with NGOs such as Médecins Sans Frontières, the Red Cross and Caritas clothing centres, and we actively advise our customers on repair options, recycling and upcycling of workwear, for example with the Velvet Novel brand. As a founding member of Fabric Loop, we are actively driving forward the implementation targets of the roadmap, with the aim of using fibre-to-fibre yarn in textiles again. As already described under the climate goal, we are also already in discussions about switching our best-selling garment fabrics to organic cotton and possibly even recycled polyester. For this, our customers also need to be willing to pay the extra cost, and we need to join forces with competitors in the workwear sector and make use of volume synergies!

Our challenge

Today, only around 2% of textiles in Switzerland are sorted, and fibre-to-fibre recycling stands at 1%. The necessary infrastructure can only be created as a joint effort of the entire industry together with the cantons, the federal government and recycling companies. Only when the Fabric Loop roadmap is implemented systematically can we live the circular economy together for the long term and conserve resources!

Interview with Tell-Tex

Our partner for collecting, sorting and recycling textiles talks about what currently happens to workwear after use and what is possible.

founded – we have been part of Fabric Loop from the start

sorting in Switzerland by 2035 as an industry goal

of our sales are to be generated in a circular way by 2030

How we put it into practice.

The circles show the degree of implementation from our 2025 progress measurement. An amber remainder means that we are behind schedule on this measure. You will find the complete analysis with all interim results further down.

3.1

Circularity

We meet at least two of four options: circular design, reuse of textile materials, engagement in recycling pilot projects and adapted business models.

100%

Implemented

3.2

Chemicals

We are implementing chemical management for our supply chain to protect biodiversity.

65%

In progress

The results of the progress measurement are based on workfashion's own information as a committed actor and represent an internal assessment by the Sustainable Textiles Switzerland programme. No audit has been carried out by the programme.

The goal for the Swiss textile and clothing industry

By 2030, at least 30% of sales in the Swiss textile and clothing sector will be generated with products designed according to circular economy principles.

Fabric Loop's solutions

The Fabric Loop roadmap as a PDF

News from Fabric Loop