Be the fibre

From collection to circular product with textile waste

Be the fibre offers companies and institutions circular solutions for their textile waste. Their ambition: to convert as much textile waste as possible into circular products. To do so, they cooperate with various recycling partners and use post-consumer and residual flows of end-of-life textiles.

Total approach from collection to circular product

Kristel Loossens of be the fibre: "We completely unburden our customers. First we discuss with them what kind of textile waste and what quantities we need to process. The type of waste determines which products we can make. Then we collect their textile waste, sort and pre-treat it according to their requirements for further recycling. The pre-treated textile waste then goes to a recycling or upcycling partner."

"There, the textile waste is further processed into circular products in line with our customer's needs and expectations. Before we start such a process, we must also be sure that we have an outlet for the circular products. Usually this is with the customer itself, but it can also be with several companies together."

Close cooperation with clothing brands and shops

"As more and more clothing brands and shops embrace circularity, we are therefore already working closely with several brands and shops today. Because collecting old textiles and having them processed into fun felt shopping bags for your customers is not only beautiful. It is also incredibly effective in reducing your ecological impact."

"Specifically, brands and shops choose to reuse and/or recycle their old textiles into circular products. With reuse, their store-worthy pieces are given a 2nd life in our own second-hand shops or through bespoke routes. When recycling, we turn their non-store-worthy pieces into circular products that they include in their offerings or use to furnish their shops."

Collaboration with businesses and healthcare

"More and more companies, including healthcare institutions and providers, are also opting for a circular solution. We recycle their textile waste and end-of-life textiles with a composition of cotton and at least 50% polyester - for example protective workwear, dust coats, nursing clothing and doctors' coats - into circular healthcare textiles and circular workwear. With other textile waste streams, we make circular products for very diverse applications. These range from products for staff over corporate gifts such as backpacks and PC bags to felt products that can be used to dress up buildings and offices or dampen noise in rooms."

About be the fibre

Be the fibre is a circular initiative and brand of We Make Hope vzw. From the textile waste collected by We Make Hope with its clothing containers and from companies, be the fibre develops circular B2B solutions. With their second-hand shops, they also focus on local reuse and reduce the logistics chain. Their goal: to reduce textile waste as much as possible.