[pageLogInLogOut]

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Knowledge Hub v3 Launched

Circle Economy is delighted to announce the launch of v3 of the Knowledge Hub: the open-collaborative library for case studies about the circular economy. People around the world can now contribute and edit circular economy case studies in an online, open-collaborative library.

Anyone interested in contributing to the global transition to the circular economy—from entrepreneurs, innovators and researchers to policymakers, consultants and educators—can now openly collaborate in adding and editing case studies to the global library. Experts in specific fields can take on the role of curators to maintain content quality. Finally, organisations with existing case libraries can upload their cases to this common library within dedicated, branded Knowledge Hub ‘collections’ that they can share with their communities. 

‘Evidence is critical to inspire action. At the same time the circular economy field is still fragmented and knowledge often difficult to access. By making this knowledge openly accessible and enabling anyone who would like to support the transition towards a circular economy to contribute their know-how into one shared place, we aim to bridge this gap. This is what the Knowledge Hub is all about.‘ — Martijn Lopes Cardozo, CEO, Circle Economy

A valuable and growing resource

The use of case studies is popular amongst circular economy practitioners and researchers. Finding the right case study, however—one that is contextually relevant—, is not always easy.

By compiling over 2,000 case studies, making them openly accessible on the Knowledge Hub and tagging them with key information such as relevant industries, impacts or location, we aim to remove this barrier to knowledge.

Over the past few years, the Knowledge Hub has seen a steady increase in readership, with over 1500+ direct monthly visitors and 10 partner organisations, including ICLEI, Circular Economy Club, Australian Circular Economy Hub Planet Ark, Zero Waste Europe and more.

?‘Knowledge-sharing through an open-source database with compelling examples of what works, and what does not, is crucial to develop a global coalition of successful circular economy practitioners. Only together can we challenge the incumbent linear economy and change the rules of the game so that our legacy serves the interest of our future generations. The Knowledge Hub is the go-to source for circular economy case studies, reports or policies. With its convenient filters, open-source set-up and democratically-curated content, it is the ideal place to find convincing case studies or to give your circular economy initiative the exposure it deserves.’—Jelmer Hoogzaad, Founder of Shifting Paradigms

Open and collaborative knowledge-creation, Wikipedia-style

Thousands of people around the world are compiling case examples to demonstrate the potential of a circular economy on a regular basis, from individual professors selecting examples to showcase in their sustainability or business innovation course, to regional circular economy platforms working to compile regional case studies of lighthouse projects and more.

By enabling everyone to add and edit any case study on the Knowledge Hub, in the same way Wikipedia does, we now aim to harness the collective power of circularity advocates around the world and foster the spirit of open collaboration that is so crucial to the transition to the circular economy.





Ensuring content quality

In growing the Knowledge Hub, we always prioritised breadth over depth so as to ensure knowledge can be found. Now, to make sure depth is also available in the library, circular economy and industry experts are taking on the role of ‘curators’: reviewing and giving case studies that pass quality thresholds a stamp of approval.

‘I am excited to be a curator of the Knowledge Hub. This is such a great initiative that aims to share best practices from around the world and make them accessible to all in order to accelerate the much needed transition to a circular economy. Whether you are an expert, a student or a practitioner, come check out our curated case studies and contribute with your expertise and passion.’ — Simona Grande, Researcher at University of Turin, Expert curator on the Knowledge Hub

A common library of tailored collections

The wealth of knowledge bases that exist around the world speak to the unique knowledge needs different stakeholders have. Businesses in Australia may not be interested in hearing about the same examples as local governments in Nigeria, for example. Non-governmental organisations working to curate examples relevant to their context may have particular cases in mind they would like to advocate for. While we acknowledge the uniqueness of needs, the entire circular economy community would benefit from knowing about these examples. What if this were to happen automatically and without additional coordination efforts? 

This is what the new Knowledge Hub ‘collections’ are for. ‘Collections’ enable knowledge organisations to upload their case studies to the common Knowledge Hub library and to make these cases accessible not only to their audience, but to all Knowledge Hub users. Visually, ‘collections’ look like dedicated, branded environments, which allow organisations to offer their communities a curated access to case studies. In time, we aim for ‘collections’ to remove the need for these organisations to build stand-alone, siloed libraries on their own website—so that knowledge can truly be shared.

Circular Norway hope that by sharing case studies on the Knowledge Hub, we can inspire others to become more circular.  Because the KH is global and open-access, we think it’s the best place to gather all things circular. There are so many filters, so our Norwegian readers can easily find Norwegian examples, but they can also be inspired by others. We think that if everyone starts using the Knowledge Hub actively, it can become the go-to place for circular economy reports, business cases and policy developments.’ — Sofie Pindsle, Project Manager, Circular Norway

‘By researching and collecting circular economy case studies across Africa, we want to give exposure to entrepreneurs and to inspire other people on the African continent to join in the circular economy movement. We are sharing these cases on the Knowledge Hub because we believe it is better to build a rich, global library to advance knowledge-sharing and learning and would like to invite every individual and organisation interested in the circular economy to visit the Knowledge Hub, check out the cases available and publish their case studies.’ Deborah — Deborah Ohui Nartey, Research analyst at Footprints Africa





More News from TEXDATA International

#ITM 2026

ITM 2026: The new geography of textile production

New production hubs are emerging across North Africa and Central Asia, while Türkiye is accelerating its transformation toward higher-value, technology-driven and more sustainable textile manufacturing.

#Research & Development

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

#Knitting & Hosiery

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

#Associations

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

More News on Recycling / Circular Economy

#Research & Development

ALADIN paves the way for circular and demand-driven textile production in Europe

Textile production can be organized sustainably by utilizing short supply chains and preventing overproduction. This can already be achieved today by intelligently connecting and efficiently utilizing existing infrastructure. At the same time, production becomes circular when innovative technologies and materials are used that enable high-quality recycling. The ALADIN research project, launched in May 2026 and co-funded with five million euros under the EU Horizon Europe program, is creating the conditions for this.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Ence and ShareTex begin initial testing of the ATENEA innovation project to promote textile recycling in Spain

Ence and ShareTex are making progress on the Atenea R&D project, which aims to develop a complete value chain for textile recycling in Spain. Specifically, the goal of the ATENEA project—which is funded by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI)—is to connect all the necessary stages for the recovery of textile waste, from collection and management, through recycling and transformation into new raw materials, to their incorporation into new textile products.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

DePoly Inaugurates its Showcase Plant in Monthey Switzerland

What if used plastic bottles, PET packaging material and polyester textiles could become raw materials just as high performing as virgin resources? That is the ambition of DePoly, a circular materials company based in Sion, Switzerland which inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6th & 7th. The first depolymerization facility of its kind and scale in Switzerland, this industrial Showcase Plant represents a major milestone in the company's growth and its journey toward commercialization.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Commission clarifies rules on plastic bottles recycling

The European Commission today adopted new rules on recycling of single-use plastic beverage bottles made primarily of polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles). These rules establish, for the first time, a methodology to calculate, verify and report chemically recycled content. This is part of the Commission’s December 2025 plastics package.

Latest News

#Nonwovens

Katharina Obergruber appointed to the Management Board of Sandler AG

The Supervisory Board of Sandler AG has appointed Katharina Obergruber to the company’s Management Board. Effective September 1, 2026, the Board will consist of Philipp Ebbinghaus (CEO), Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck (currently CCO, future COO), and Katharina Obergruber (CCO). Katharina Obergruber, currently Chief Sales Officer Hygiene and member of the Management Team of Sandler AG, will assume responsibility for all sales activities as Chief Commercial Officer. She will assume this role from Dr. Ulrich Hornfeck, who will focus primarily on production and supply chain topics.

#Sustainability

Global Standards establishes new non-profit foundation to strengthen governance

Global Standards gGmbH, the nonprofit organisation behind the globally recognised Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), announced a new governance structure designed to support its long-term mission and reinforce organisational autonomy of its Voluntary Sustainability Standards and programmes.

#Textile chemistry

DyStar releases FY2025 sustainability report, marking a new milestone towards its 2030 targets

DyStar, a leading specialty chemicals company with more than a century of expertise in product development and innovation, today announced the release of its FY2025 Sustainability Report, marking a significant milestone in its sustainability journey and reinforcing its commitment to long-term value creation.

#Research & Development

TERIS reaches milestone: Fraunhofer consortium develops new standards for tire analysis

In the “TERIS” project, the Fraunhofer institutes ICT, IGD, and IWM—led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF—have reached a decisive milestone. For the first time, the teams aim to generate, analyse, and predict tire wear in the laboratory in a standardized and practical manner. As part of this milestone, results are now available on reference abrasion, particle analysis, tribological models, AI-based surface analysis, a test bench concept, and methods for accelerated aging and VOC detection. The tire industry, testing services, and environmental agencies will in future benefit from reliable, rapid laboratory procedures for emissions assessment.

TOP