RWTH: The clothing recycling problem

The Citizens’ Forum RWTHextern and the city of Aachen invite you to a panel discussion “Textiles in the recycling economy: Are our clothes becoming a problem?”. It begins on Thursday, July 28th, 2022 at 6 p.m. at the Katschhof in Aachen. Jens Tervooren from WDR moderates the event. Professor Thomas Gries, Head of the Institute for Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University, Sibylle Keupen, Lord Mayor of the City of Aachen, Heiko Thomas, Deputy for Climate and Environment, City Operations and Buildings of the City of Aachen, and Professor Marzia Traverso, Head of the Institute for Sustainability in construction at RWTH Aachen University.

Textiles are – after food – the second most important consumer product in Germany: 20 to 25 kilograms are consumed per capita every year. Of this, 75 percent is clothing, the rest are, for example, diapers, carpets or household textiles. However, the recycling rate is only one percent. How to solve this problem? What can cities and municipalities, what can science do? Is it possible to produce regionally produced clothing on a large scale in Germany again? The structural change also opens up opportunities for change for the textile industry.