Textile fibres are not produced at the factory gates.
They are produced in landscapes, soils and ecosystems whose long-term capacity is essential to the future supply of raw materials.
Textilkompassen is developing an open knowledge platform that collects, organises and highlights knowledge about land use, biodiversity and ecosystem impacts – from soil and seed to fibre.
The textile industry is dependent on nature’s capacity – both to produce the raw materials on which the value chain is based and to absorb the materials and substances that society puts into circulation. At the same time, global fibre production continues to rise, whilst more than 99 per cent of material flows still consist of virgin resources. All textile fibres originate in nature and are eventually returned to the same biosphere, but with very different consequences for soil, water, climate and biodiversity. How these flows are managed is therefore crucial – not only for individual products, but for nature’s long-term capacity to sustain the textile value chains of the future.
For industry, the public sector and other stakeholders, this presents a growing challenge. Demands for traceability, transparency and sustainable raw material supply are increasing, whilst climate change, soil degradation and biodiversity loss are affecting the systems on which textile production depends. To make well-informed decisions, we need knowledge that describes not only products and processes, but also the natural conditions upon which the value chains rely.
The Textile Compass is being developed to complement and strengthen existing knowledge bases. By gathering, structuring and highlighting knowledge about the impact of different textile fibres on soil, biodiversity and ecosystems – from soil and seed to fibre – the project is developing an open and scientifically based decision-making framework. The aim is to create a shared knowledge base that can harmonise with established tools whilst also contributing perspectives that are currently difficult to capture and compare. The project’s focus is not solely on developing new knowledge, but on making existing and new knowledge more accessible, comprehensible and useful for the decisions that will shape the textile value chains of the future.
Textilkompassen is being developed with co-funding from Interreg Sweden–Norway, Region Jämtland Härjedalen and Trøndelag County Council
News
Explore news, articles, events and collaboration opportunities
Event
Webinar
How we assess the environmental impacts of textile fibres matters – not only for how different materials are understood, but ultimately for the choices made by industry, policymakers, public procurement and consumers. This webinar seeks to open an honest and exploratory conversation around the methods and assumptions shaping these assessments today. How well do existing approaches such as LCA and PEFCR reflect real-world impacts? How are evolving European assessment frameworks shaping the way textile fibres are understood and compared? What falls within, and outside, their current parameters? And how might we better account for the complexity of different fibre systems, including both their negative impacts and their potential to contribute positively to ecological systems? We particularly welcome researchers, practitioners and others working with – or grappling with – LCA, PEFCR and related approaches to textile impact assessment. Rather than seeking consensus or definitive answers, the webinar is intended as an open exchange of perspectives, uncertainties and experiences, including space to question current approaches and explore complementary or alternative ways forward. The conversation will be held under the Chatham House Rule to support an open exchange, and beyond the dialogue, serve as a point of departure for Textilkompassen's continued exploration of how textile fibre choices can be understood and assessed.
Article
The Textile Compass:
New project seeks to untangle the textile industry’s Gordian knot
Author: Tone Tobiasson
What is actually the most sustainable? Cotton or polyester? A woollen jumper or a synthetic fleece jacket?
How many times has this question been asked? And how desperately has the textile industry itself sought a definitive answer? For years, organisations such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (now Cascale) and, not least, the EU’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) have grappled with this issue, with a view to being able to clearly communicate to consumers which product they should choose over another. Now, efforts are being stepped up in the context of new directives and regulations.
Artikel
From pre-study to implementation
The Textile Compass is based on the question of how knowledge about the origin and impact of raw materials can be made more accessible, comparable and useful to decision-makers.
The preliminary study gathered perspectives from industry, research and other stakeholders to map out knowledge needs and identify common challenges. The implementation project currently underway builds on this work, with the aim of developing an open and scientifically based knowledge base.
Researcher
Henrik Haller is an associate professor of environmental science and conducts research into sustainable land use. He also has extensive practical experience of organic farming in various climates.
Project partner
Camilla Åmot Aarhaug works hands-on with materials, textiles and crafts, focusing on weaving and exploration. Through her work, she tests and highlights connections within textile value chains. She emphasises how local resources can contribute to more local and sustainable solutions in the textile sector.
Partner & Communications Lead
Tone Skårdal Tobiasson is an experienced journalist who has worked for many years as a dissemination and communications officer for research projects relating to textiles and sustainability. She has an extensive international network and corresponding expertise relating to the ongoing work on life-cycle assessments for textiles, and has co-authored opinion pieces, academic and popular science articles on the subject. She also takes part in public hearings and is regularly invited to contribute to this work from various quarters.
Project Leader, Norway
Nina Alsborn is the project leader at Fibershed Norway, working at the intersection of textiles, local resource management and systemic change. Background in small-scale textile production, traditional craftsmanship, teaching and project development. Particular focus on regenerative textile systems, Norwegian wool and animal fibres, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration between the grassroots level, research and the public sector. Focus on local resources and bioregional thinking, facilitation and knowledge-sharing, small-scale production and systemic change.
Project Leader, Sweden
Ida Britta Petrelius is the project leader at IUC Jämtland Härjedalen, with extensive experience of working at the intersection of industry, applied research and the public sector on issues relating to sustainable development and transition through sustainability science, system innovation, design methods and circular strategies.
Project Strategist and PhD student
Åsa Strandberg is the initiator of Textilkompassen and, alongside her strategic work, is undertaking postgraduate research at Mid Sweden University linked to the project. With 17 years’ industry experience at H&M and academic expertise in economics and environmental engineering, she has spent the last 15 years working to increase understanding of the resource requirements of textile production and its implications for biodiversity. Her work focuses on the textile value chain from seed to fibre and explores how material choices affect land use, resource use and ecosystem health. Within Textilkompassen, she contributes to the project’s strategic direction and supports the development of transparent decision-support tools that help companies make more informed material choices.
Project Coordinator, Norway
Are Severin Ingulfsvann is a senior lecturer in ecological economics and ethics and has been teaching ecological economics, ethics, eco-philosophy and the circular economy since 2012. His research interests are primarily linked to consumption in outdoor recreation and ecological economics.
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Project partner
Ove Daniel Jakobsen has been conducting research and lecturing in the interdisciplinary field of ecological economics for several decades, which has resulted in a vast number of academic publications, including both articles and books. Furthermore, he has placed great emphasis on practical work and highlighted challenges relating to sustainability within a broad context. He argues that these challenges cannot be addressed solely through incremental adjustments, but instead require fundamental changes at both the individual and systemic levels.
Project partner
Lill-Beathe Håpnes is a senior lecturer at Nord University’s School of Business. Her research interests focus on the tools used by public authorities for business development, including public ownership and the incubator programme. She is also passionate about practice-based and innovation-oriented research that can steer society towards a more circular economy, where waste is eliminated and the quality of resources is preserved.
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Project partner
Amsale Temesgen is Associate Professor at Nord University Business School. She does research in Ecological Economics, sustainability transitions, climate adaptation, and sustainable development.
Project partner
Jorunn Grande is a doctor in business management and associated professor focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship, rural and nature-based businesses, strategic alliances and networks, social entrepreneurship, SMB, factors influencing value creation and capturing, resource-based view and dynamic capabilities.
Åsa Strandberg is the initiator of Textilkompassen and, alongside her strategic work, is undertaking postgraduate research at Mid Sweden University linked to the project. With 17 years’ industry experience at H&M and academic expertise in economics and environmental engineering, she has spent the last 15 years working to increase understanding of the resource requirements of textile production and its implications for biodiversity. Her work focuses on the textile value chain from seed to fibre and explores how material choices affect land use, resource use and ecosystem health. Within Textilkompassen, she contributes to the project’s strategic direction and supports the development of transparent decision-support tools that help companies make more informed material choices.
Project Strategist and PhD student
Ida Britta Petrelius is the project leader at IUC Jämtland Härjedalen, with extensive experience of working at the intersection of industry, applied research and the public sector on issues relating to sustainable development and transition through sustainability science, system innovation, design methods and circular strategies.
Project Leader, Sweden
Nina Alsborn is the project leader at Fibershed Norway, working at the intersection of textiles, local resource management and systemic change. Background in small-scale textile production, traditional craftsmanship, teaching and project development. Particular focus on regenerative textile systems, Norwegian wool and animal fibres, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration between the grassroots level, research and the public sector. Focus on local resources and bioregional thinking, facilitation and knowledge-sharing, small-scale production and systemic change.
Project Leader, Norway
Partner & Communications Lead
Tone Skårdal Tobiasson is an experienced journalist who has worked for many years as a dissemination and communications officer for research projects relating to textiles and sustainability. She has an extensive international network and corresponding expertise relating to the ongoing work on life-cycle assessments for textiles, and has co-authored opinion pieces, academic and popular science articles on the subject. She also takes part in public hearings and is regularly invited to contribute to this work from various quarters.
Project partner
Camilla Åmot Aarhaug works hands-on with materials, textiles and crafts, focusing on weaving and exploration. Through her work, she tests and highlights connections within textile value chains. She emphasises how local resources can contribute to more local and sustainable solutions in the textile sector.
Henrik Haller is an associate professor of environmental science and conducts research into sustainable land use. He also has extensive practical experience of organic farming in various climates.
Researcher
Are Severin Ingulfsvann is a senior lecturer in ecological economics and ethics and has been teaching ecological economics, ethics, eco-philosophy and the circular economy since 2012. His research interests are primarily linked to consumption in outdoor recreation and ecological economics. Within the project, Are leads and coordinates the university’s activities.
Project Coordinator, Norway
Ove Daniel Jakobsen has been conducting research and lecturing in the interdisciplinary field of ecological economics for several decades, which has resulted in a vast number of academic publications, including both articles and books. Furthermore, he has placed great emphasis on practical work and highlighted challenges relating to sustainability within a broad context. He argues that these challenges cannot be addressed solely through incremental adjustments, but instead require fundamental changes at both the individual and systemic levels.
Project partner
Lill-Beathe Håpnes
Nord Universitet
Lill-Beathe Håpnes is a senior lecturer at Nord University’s School of Business. Her research interests focus on the tools used by public authorities for business development, including public ownership and the incubator programme. She is also passionate about practice-based and innovation-oriented research that can steer society towards a more circular economy, where waste is eliminated and the quality of resources is preserved.
Project partner
Jorunn Grande
Nord Universitet
Jorunn Grande is a doctor in business management and associated professor focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship, rural and nature-based businesses, strategic alliances and networks, social entrepreneurship, SMB, factors influencing value creation and capturing, resource-based view and dynamic capabilities
Project partner
Amsale Kassahun Temesgen
Nord Universitet
Amsale Temesgen is Associate Professor at Nord University Business School. She does research in Ecological Economics, sustainability transitions, climate adaptations and sustainable development.
Project partner
Collaboration for knowledge-building
Textilkompassen is being developed in collaboration with industry, the public sector, the research community and other relevant initiatives. Please complete the form to gain access to networks, activities and results, as well as to engage in collaboration linked to knowledge development and to strengthen the development of future decision-making frameworks for textile value chains.
No obligations – just an open invitation to join the conversation.