Through our work in textile circularity over the past 7 years, we are seeing an increased appetite for post-consumer textile diversion, reuse, recycling and recovery across the value chain. Stakeholders recognize that making the transition to a circular economy is a fundamental pathway to support Canada’s climate and biodiversity targets. 

While there are circular initiatives taking place in Canada, much of the work is centralized and happening independently. Over the years, this approach has been proven to be inefficient, as it often leads to duplication of efforts and resource competition. As seen across the world, the  most effective route to accelerate meaningful change, big or small, is through collective action. Over the years, FTA has fostered relationships with multi-stakeholder groups across Canada and internationally, and we recognize our role as a convener to connect these groups toward a common vision of establishing a circular and regenerative system in Canada. With financial support from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), FTA established the Canadian Circular Textiles Consortium (CCTC) in 2023, and is inviting stakeholders to partner with us to turn our shared vision into reality. 

While at the start of this journey, the CCTC will be tackling the issues around post-consumer textiles in Canada, we will be engaging and collaborating with international stakeholders to learn from, and to expand our efforts far beyond our geographic boundary.

The CCTC hopes to:

• Foster collective action through sharing key learnings, resources, and research to enhance and accelerate circular initiatives and projects in the textile industry; and
• Reduce duplication of industry efforts towards a common North Star.