Building a textiles “Sufficien-city”: reflections on diverse municipal contexts from the first year of the STICT project

STICT, a two-year project on “Strengthening the Implementation of Circular Textiles Strategies in the EU”, recently celebrated its first year. This project uses a dual approach, focusing on both national transposition of textiles EPR in three Member States (Estonia, Belgium, Slovenia), as well as working locally with three ZWE member organisations in three different municipalities. The project aims to highlight the realities faced by European municipalities, sorters and recyclers, all while piloting various local (policy) actions that can be extrapolated to national and EU policymakers.

Our partners in this project, Zero Waste Estonia (ZWEE), Zero Waste Belgium (ZWB) and Ecologists without Borders (EBM) have been working closely with municipalities in their countries: Saku, Brussels and Bled, respectively. We’ve seen how different local contexts shape the textiles ecosystem of each municipality, from a small, mostly residential town, to a European capital, to a place with a great touristic appeal. What have we found so far?

Click on the infographic to take a closer look at our “Sufficien-city”

Saku

Saku is a small town of approximately 5,500 inhabitants, which lies 16 km from the Estonian capital, Tallinn. Many of its inhabitants travel to Tallinn for work, as well as for leisure activities. Nevertheless, with municipal officials committed to environmental protection and zero waste principles, the first year of the STICT project saw the opening of a “circulation room” at the local recycling centre, launched in partnership between Saku and ZWEE (read our story about the initiative). 

This space is a welcoming ‘open wardrobe’, available to anyone during the centre’s visiting hours, which allows visitors to take any three things they like for free. The only requirement is for the visitor to note down what has been taken, ensuring that everything is tracked. The room’s stock consists mostly of clothes; however, it also includes various household textiles and decorations, as well as a selection of books. 

The perception has been overwhelmingly positive, with citizens not only coming to browse but also to take part in various repair and upcycling workshops. What seems to have worked well is the fact that it was set up in a place that was already well-visited by citizens, with opening hours, a guard present, and in a generally very well-kept environment. A fantastic example of how a local initiative can encourage sharing and build community. 

Brussels

The City of Brussels, which is working with ZWB, is the largest municipality in the Brussels-Capital region of Belgium, and home to almost 200,000 people. While Brussels effectively serves as a Belgian region, the City of Brussels consists mainly of the neighbourhood that covers the historic centre and some of its immediate surroundings. Because of this, collection and sorting strategies are key, as is always the case when working with textiles on such a scale and with numerous neighbouring municipalities (or neighbourhoods). 

For example, it is essential to understand what kind of collection points are most effective in a city environment, and how they should be placed in visible places. It is often the case that higher-quality collections happen when containers are placed in enclosed public spaces, for example, a secondhand retailer with a container on their property that gets locked off at night.

Focusing on circular public procurement in a city of such scale is also worthwhile due to the sheer amount of textiles needed for official purposes. The City of Brussels will be focusing on this topic with ZWB during the second year of the STICT project.

Bled

Bled is one of Slovenia’s most beloved tourist destinations, with around 8,000 inhabitants all year round, and a major influx of tourists between spring and autumn. This affects local waste management in many ways, with the municipality noticing excessive littering and illegal dumping during the high season. Textiles are collected and pre-sorted for the local reuse centre and second-hand shop, before being passed on to bigger sorters. 

As a small town, similar in size to Saku, it is easier to organise community-based activities. In 2025, EBM organised two clothing swap events for citizens together with the municipality of Bled, during which about half of the clothes brought were swapped. They also held workshops for various audiences: from schoolchildren to adults, focusing on upcycling, repair, embroidery, and building a sustainable wardrobe. A survey was sent out to citizens and accommodation providers to identify needs regarding the handling of used textiles. 

With much pressure on both municipalities and sorters, who are often social enterprises, due to ever-growing amounts of clothing produced, bought and discarded, it is imperative that local realities are brought to the forefront and heard by policymakers. In a moment when Member States are developing their transpositions of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes for textiles, it is key that these are developed ambitiously and through diverse stakeholder inclusion, so that they may serve as a tool that improves the current situation of discarded textiles in Europe, and beyond.