Polish clothing company LPP is introducing the possibility of handing over second-hand clothes in its brand stores in foreign markets. Already in February, the campaign will be launched in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the UK and will gradually include other countries where LPP stores are open. So far, the initiative has taken place in the company’s network of brick-and-mortar stores in Poland. The measures taken by the company are in line with the European Union directive introducing mandatory sorted textile collection, which will be required from 2025.
LPP has been collecting second-hand clothing of any brands since 2018. Initially, it was carried out in selected Reserved stores and gradually expanded to other brands and locations in Poland. Last year, the initiative covered the entire network of brick-and-mortar stores in Poland, where, thanks to the cooperation with the St. Brother Albert Aid Society, clothes in good condition are handed over to people in crisis of homelessness. Other clothes are sorted for final processing. LPP is currently developing the collection in foreign markets, with its stores in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the UK starting in February. During the next phases, it will be extended to other countries where stores of the brands belonging to the Group are in operation.
LPP’s initiative is in line with a European Union directive,[1] announced last July, which obliges member states to introduce extended producer responsibility, including provisions for the separate collection and proper sorting of textile waste. Currently, just over 2 million tonnes of clothing and textile products are sorted in the European Union, which is about 38% of the EU’s total. The changes resulting from the Directive are intended to gradually increase the implementation of separate collection of textiles and to introduce producer responsibility for the management of textile waste. This will also include the need to bear the costs associated with the collection and sorting of clothing, its transport, preparation for secondary use, recycling or proper disposal of products, as well as reporting, customer education and the promotion of innovation, particularly in terms of increasing textile recycling rates. Separate collection of textile waste will take place across the European Union from 1 January 2025. One market where extended producer responsibility and separate collection solutions for textiles are already in place is France, but many countries are still working on their own regulations.
“Taking into account the ongoing process of implementation of the Directive in the markets where we operate, we would like to adapt our collection rules to local regulations. That is why, despite previous promises to launch them in our foreign network as early as 2023, we have decided to wait to see how individual countries approach future regulations. However, we see that even at the state level, this is a challenging process and there remains a need for initiative from below, from the business world. Therefore, as a responsible producer, we have started our own collection abroad, for a start in three countries, but gradually we will expand the scope of the action to other markets,” explains Dorota Jankowska-Tomków, Director of Purchasing and ESG at LPP.
Together with the expansion of collection outside Poland, the legal aspects related to the specifics of local markets and the efficient organisation of collection posed a challenge for LPP. This opened the field for the company’s cooperation with recognised organisations operating in the field of secondary clothing circulation, such as Ubrania Do Oddania in the Czech Republic or Ekocharita in Slovakia. As the company also operates outside the European Union, it has decided to start collecting in the UK market, where it is supported by the Yellow Octopus Group.
“We needed partners who have experience in the complex management of sorted textile collection and can help us develop our range of activities in the field of circular fashion. Throughout the collection process, we protect clothes from damage and contamination by ensuring suitable storage conditions. Also, during transport and sorting, garments cannot be exposed to moisture and other harmful atmospheric conditions. Our partners guarantee that the quality of the collected textiles is maintained and that they are professionally sorted into individual fractions. They are also responsible for separating the clothes into those that are suitable for reuse, but also into those made of materials with a very specific composition, which is necessary to use appropriate recycling techniques. Thanks to the deployment of partners, the international sales network will now also be part of our development process towards a circular economy,” emphasises Ewa Janczukowicz-Cichosz, sustainability expert at LPP.
As part of the ongoing collection in LPP stores, clothing, shoes and accessories of any brand can be handed in, which are then sorted and passed on, according to the hierarchy of textile waste management. Depending on the condition of the collected items, they are placed on the secondary market, upcycled or recycled. Items that can be reused are refreshed by the partners and put into a second cycle. A portion of the profit from each kilogram of collected clothing is donated to charitable causes, which is the case in countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“Selective collection, sorting and inclusion in the secondary circulation are inherent parts of circular fashion, from which there is no turning back in today’s garment industry. Our cooperation with LPP in Slovakia proves that changes in the circular economy are taking place in the market regardless of whether similar regulations are already in place in a given country or not,” emphasises Tomáš Štefančík, Chief Sales Officer at Ekocharita.
Although the new legislation on textile waste management covers only EU member states, the company has also decided to adjust its programme in the UK, where it has recently strengthened its presence by opening additional stores in prestigious locations in London.
“Since February, we have been supporting LPP to implement circular activities in its UK stores. We are delighted to be able to give clothes a second life together with the Polish company, and through participating in the collection and sorting process, we are preparing textiles to be second-hand, in line with the idea of circular fashion,” adds Jack Ostrowski, founder of Yellow Octopus Group.
The Polish manufacturer intends that collected polyester garments will be reused with textile-to-textile technology, which also coincides with the European Union’s waste directive, which points to the need for the industry to fund the development of new recycling and sorting technologies. Already in 2022, the company has entered into a collaboration with Polish start-up Use Waste, which has been commissioned by the company to develop an innovative method of producing yarn from polyester textile waste. Currently, the project has exited the laboratory phase and further work is underway on the textile-to-textile technology. In 2023 alone, the company spent EUR 1 million on this purpose.
“In the face of the current climate challenges, the role of business does not end with supplying garments to customers. It is important that the manufacturer takes responsibility for the textiles produced. It is important to us to support the industry in these activities, so we are pleased that its largest representative in Poland has chosen us as one of the partners in the process. Today we are helping the company in the Czech Republic, but we plan to expand our cooperation to other markets as well,” says Przemysław Kwiatkowski, Partnership Manager at Ubrania Do Oddania.
Source: LPP and CTK
