Towards a more sustainable circularity of textiles in the Baltic Sea region
Textiles are an essential part of people‘s everyday lives. We wear and need clothes to protect ourselves and to stay warm. Clothing plays an important role in building one‘s own identity and self–expression. With our clothing choices, we tell who we are and what kind of values we represent. Home textiles and other textile–based products shape the spaces we live and work in and affect the overall experience of our everyday lives.
The textile industry has been identified as one of the most significant users of natural resources. Therefore, the industry needs continuous renewal and new kinds of ideas and operating models that reduce the environmental load and promote sustainable lifestyles. A more sustainable future requires the development of both materials and production processes, but also consumption change and a new understanding of the role of textiles in society.
The Baltic2Hand project has promoted textile reuse models and studied consumer behaviour. The research was used for background in developing new ideas and piloting and implementing new business models. In the project, textile companies came up with ideas for new circular economy business models and services, piloted solutions and created plans for the future.
The project was implemented by Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tallinn Business Incubators Foundation and Sustainability InnoCenter from Sweden. The project was implemented during the period 1.4.2023 — 30.3.2026 and it was funded by the Interreg Central Baltic 2021–2027 programme. The project was partly funded by the European Union.
Design thinking as a project process
The Baltic2Hand project utilised a systematic, step–by-step design process that combined research, ideation, development and practical experimentation. The method helped companies identify new opportunities in circular economy and develop concrete, tested solutions for the future of the sustainable textile industry.
The Baltic2Hand project proceeded as a four–stage service design process, 1. Discover – Understanding Needs and Situations, 2. Define – Defining Opportunities, 3. Develop – Development and piloting of solutions and 4. Deliver – Assessment and implementation.
The project was carried out using service design methods. The key methods used were workshops, peer learning and knowledge sharing. During the process, industry–specific co–creation workshops were created and planned for textile industry organisations and key stakeholders. The goal was to produce joint development ideas and turn them into concrete solutions for the operations of the participating companies. The process was wide–ranging and participatory, and it combined research, analysis, co–creation and piloting. The workshops and events helped to create a better understanding of circular economy textile market solutions, identified opportunities related to them, and supported companies in developing sustainable business solutions.
1. Discover
Understanding the needs and the current situation as a starting point. In the initial phase, the current state of textile reuse and the circular economy was mapped through interviews, surveys and extensive background research in all participating countries. The study focused on both consumers and companies in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the pain points, motives and obstacles to development in the market. After this, the findings were compiled to create an understanding of what kind of future opportunities can be identified. The goal was to identify new openings and development potential in the second-hand market. In the brainstorming phase, consumer personas were created to help understand the needs, expectations and behavioural changes of different user groups.
2. Define
Defining opportunities and brainstorming creates new openings. As the process progressed, new sustainable business models and solutions were brainstormed and developed with companies. In co–creation workshops, hackathons and iterative prototyping were utilised, which enabled rapid learning and transforming ideas into concrete concepts and testable prototypes.
3. Develop
The development and piloting of the solutions helped to integrate the solutions into the companies’ renewing business models. In this third phase, sustainable business models and solutions were developed, tested and piloted together with companies. At this stage, companies were addressed with knowledge sharing and inspiration. In addition, the companies received company–specific sparring support for piloting their own ideas.
4. Deliver
Evaluation of the piloting phase enables the modification of the idea and streamlines the implementation of new activities. In this final phase, the piloted solutions were evaluated and roadmaps were drawn up for their further development. The companies were supported with putting the solutions into practice and developing their business so that the innovations created in the project could continue to live on even after the project has ended.
The project created a framework for the development of companies‘ circular economy business models
Companies participated in the project according to the tunnel model of design thinking. As the project progressed, the number of participants was limited in stages to make prototyping, piloting and the implementation phase easier to carry out efficiently. This phasing made it possible for the development work to be targeted at those actors and companies that had the best capabilities and interest in proceeding to concrete experiments. At the beginning, the largest number of companies participated in the ideation phase, and 50 companies participated. Not all ideas found their place or were yet ready for development, so in the end, 10–11 companies were selected for the piloting and implantation phase. Companies from Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia participated in the project‘s measures. Some of the companies joined in the later stages of the process. One example is the Kierrätyskeskus, which joined in the later phase of the project, but continued until the pilot phase and local implementation.
Through local and cross–border engagement, participating companies were able to embark on an accelerated development path, hackathons, progressing from ideation to prototyping and testing. During the project, a total of six cross–border pilots were carried out, in which the developed solutions were tested in cooperation between actors in different countries. In addition to these, seven local pilots were organised, which made it possible to test solutions at the regional level and in their own operating environments.
From ideation to implementation
Co–creation based on service design, pilots and open training materials have formed the core of the Baltic2Hand project – the goal has been to create knowledge and ideas that nudge and build the second–hand market into an even more functional, attractive and sustainable entity. Co–creation also helps to learn new information together, which helps to commodify ideas into business products and services.
The projects enable the implementation of existing knowledge and new research into future products and operations. An important part is also the EU‘s sustainable legislation, which creates a framework and partly forces us to reform our operations in a more sustainable direction.
A good example is G–Old Atelier, a Stockholm–based studio specializing in the restoration of luxury leather products, which cleans, repairs and refurbishes shoes, bags, belts and other accessories, giving them a new life. During the pilot, various operating models for customer relationships were created, but it was also recognised that the entrepreneur himself is the new role model of the circular economy.
Another example of the pilot is a Latvian company that manufactures lamps from circular materials. These materials can also be utilised in pet products, and the pilot focused on how to bring sustainable products to the pet market.
Value chain model for developing textile circularity
The development of business based on the reuse of textiles requires a clear and transparent value chain model that supports both the change in consumer behaviour and the ability of companies to produce sustainable services and solutions. The value chain developed in the Baltic2hand project consists of six interrelated phases that comprehensively describe the reuse process and support the implementation of the principles of circular economy.
End–user training emphasizes the role of information as an enabler of behavior change. The information provided to consumers – such as care instructions, the criteria for extending the lifespan or repairing them – can be used to create an understanding of how textiles can be used longer and more responsibly. At the same time, the training supports a broader transition from a throwaway culture towards a circular economy.
Textile repair and renewal highlights the services that make extending the life cycle of textiles concrete. Repair services, tuning and other forms of renewal restore products to their original purpose or create a new one for them. This phase will also strengthen local expertise and the legitimacy of repair services as part of the modern circular economy.
Guiding the consumer to make choices of second–hand textiles highlights the means of communication and service design that make second–hand products attractive, high-quality and easy–to-use alternatives. With small control measures and nudging – such as the presentation of the selection, accessibility and transparency of pricing – the threshold can be lowered to choose a used one instead of a new one.
The supply of second–hand textiles must be sufficient and of high quality. This stage includes product collection, sorting, quality assessment, and assortment curation. With the help of a functional offering, it is possible to meet the needs of different consumer groups and support the growth of the second–hand market. It is also a significant stage in which companies can develop new service models, such as online stores, collaboration models or brand–specific take–back services.
Reassessment of waste streams, looks at material flows from a new perspective: which part of textiles can be reused, which is suitable for regeneration, and which in turn is suitable for upcycling solutions or recycling. This step is key to the efficiency of the circular economy, as it helps to minimise waste and find value in side streams that traditional linear models have not been able to exploit.
In the use of recycled material, the focus is on how recycled textiles are created into new products or materials. This phase links the life cycle of textiles back to the beginning and designing products, strengthening the closed–loop model and promoting material efficiency. Increasing the use of recycled fibres requires functional technical solutions and design changes, but it is also one of the most effective ways to reduce the environmental footprint of the textile industry.
The Baltic2Hand project has taught that the value of reuse comes from proximity, quality and flexible solutions, not from long and multi–stage logistics chains. This principle supports both environmental goals and economic efficiency. The entire value chain is guided by a key principle: unnecessary transport does not add value to the reuse of textiles.
The actors in the Baltic Sea region form an ecosystem of good expertise and agency, with close geographic proximity, that is able to make change together. This however requires active agency and tight cooperation of different stakeholders. The Baltic2Hand project was successful is creating such connections and building trust among participants resulting in circular textile solutions promoting more sustainable textile industry in the region.
Johanna Liipola
Baltic2Hand Project Manager, Turku UAS
Eerika Heinonen
Baltic2Hand Researcher, Turku UAS
These materials were created in the Baltic2Hand project which is an Interreg Central Baltic Programme 2021–2027 project that is co-funded by the European Union. Read more about the Baltic2Hand project.