Since the turn of century, the world has seen significant advances in human development.

Extreme poverty has been halved.

The number of low-income countries has been reduced from 65 to 31.

80% of the world’s, 1-year old children have been vaccinated against some disease.

We have achieved many things…

 … thanks to strong economic growth, social improvements and technological progress.

However, much still remains to be done.

Too many people and countries remain in poverty.

And we are challenged by the worrying consequences of climate change…

Fragile ecosystems…

Severe overexploitation of global resources.

And as consumption continues to rise, the urgency around climate change will only increase.

Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent.  People all over the world are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change.  People are losing their homes, their land and their livelihoods. 

Climate change is a multiplier for the global challenges we face.

So the most important discussion in the years to come is how we can promote prosperity whilst protecting our planet at the same time.

Against this reality, the UN member states agreed on a new framework for global development – the Sustainable Development Goals.

The SDGs are again this year the talk of the town these days in New York.

But luckily, they are far more than that.

They are a visionary global framework of immense importance for current and future generations.

A blue-print for sustainable development

Adopted by the 193 member countries of the UN….unanimously.

And this summer New York became the first city in the world to report its progress towards achieving the SDGs.

With the SDGs comes a huge responsibility.

To deliver.

And it will by no means, be an easy task.

Achieving – even striving for – fulfilling the ambitions will take hard work, massive investments, multi-disciplined and cross-sectoral partnerships … and new innovative thinking.

It can seem overwhelming…

But we have so much knowledge and know-how. We are not standing empty-handed when addressing these challenges.

One solution at hand is the further development and extension of the circular economy.

The topic of today.

From design to disposition…

A circular economy is one that is restorative and regenerative by design – it is about optimisation of value circulation, not prevention of waste generation

… it is about reducing the consumption of resources, reusing products, and recycling waste.

Circular economies can contribute to making progress and ultimately achieving many of the SDGs.

Like SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

Or SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Circular economy practices are not just relevant…and good business.  They are essential… essential for developing and implementing the solutions necessary for achieving the global goals and thereby, a healthier planet.

The principles of circular economy are an alternative to the take-make-waste society.

There are significant opportunities – significant gains – from a more circular economy…

Instead of discarding assets after only one product cycle, companies are developing ways to continually re-acquire and reintroduce these assets to market.

The notion is not just for a few chosen sectors.

It is an agenda for everyone…

From the food and beverage sector.

To construction or machinery or the textile industry.

The textile and fashion industry is a sector that often comes to mind when talking about environmental, social and ethical impact.

… When talking about consumption. Or over-consumption.

On the one hand the textile and fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world - employing more than 60 million people.

… it is a multi-trillion-dollar industry.

On the other hand it is the second most polluting industry in the world with its highly resource intensive production.

It is a sector that has been forced to transform the way it produces and markets and transform the way fashion is consumed.

Because more consumers are demanding sustainable products.

Because more employees along the value chain are demanding better and fairer working conditions.

And because unchecked consumption will undermine the world’s economic and social development.

Some companies are and will ignore those signals and continue with this take-make-waste business model.

Others will and are embracing innovative new business models and new technologies.

I think it is important to highlight the good examples; they serve as inspiration and illustrate the fact that many companies have found that an increased societal responsibility can also result in growth and increased profit.  Doing well, by doing good.

In the past years we have seen a rise in the number of businesses that choose and strive to design more sustainable products.

For more and more companies sustainability is already an integral part of their business strategy. Not a separate CSR-strategy but, one that is truly integrated in the core strategy of the business. 

Fashion and textile companies no matter how large or resourceful cannot overcome such challenges alone.  It will take a joint effort by the industry as a whole.

But, when large companies commit themselves to a 100% circular business model through the use of sustainable resources, recycled fabrics and consumption solely of renewable energy ….

… they serve as an example for the entire industry.

When high end fashion brands are doing more to control and certify their supply chains…

… it serves as an example.

When established brands support start-ups to develop more innovative and sustainable materials…

… it serves as an example.

Innovation and commercialization of sustainable products and systems in the textile and fashion industry is possible and provides new opportunities for growth. 

Transformation of the industry presents a wide spectrum of opportunities for visionary companies.

Fortunately.

Circularity is common sense.

I guess that is something we can all agree on.

At least here today.

But it is common sense that needs a smaller or bigger push from time to time.

A push to influence the behaviours of companies, citizens, consumers and governments.

Where economic, environmental and social impacts are considered in a balanced manner.

How do we make circular economy an integrated part of our societies? How do we make sure we take advantage of the window of opportunity that exists to rethink traditional approaches to persistent global challenges?

There is no single answer.

It takes education.

It takes research.

It takes accepting responsibility.

It will take innovative partnerships.

It will take the right economic models and regulation.

And it will take more companies demonstrating that circularity is “not just” a philanthropic agenda.

…..Companies that can showcase the good business case.

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Just like standing here today…

On a stage where the furniture meets the principles of circularity.

A sofa produced with a life cycle perspective.

A carpet made exclusively from recycled materials.

A coffee table that has been bought back from the original owners, restored to its original condition and circulated to us today.

These are good examples we can be inspired by.

Our common future is a shared responsibility. It is not a responsibility we can choose to take, it is one that we simply have.

Thank you.