On Thursday, October 1st, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, the inauguration of the RECYCLocal Textiles and COLEO pilot project in Occitanie will take place. This is a regional industrial facility dedicated to transforming textile waste into new raw materials as part of the EU-funded Interreg SUDOE Fashion Forward project.
The event will be held at the industrial site in Le Vernet (494 Rue Cité Radio, 31810 Le Vernet).
A Pilot Facility at the Heart of the Textile Circular Economy
The facility sorts and prepares textile waste to create a new raw material that is directly recycled by the cooperative’s members. This organizational model ensures sustainable, local, and traceable outlets for textile streams collected within the region.
RECYCLocal Textiles was born from a collaboration between RECYCL’Occ Textile and eight founding partners—Buitex, Coleo, Europrotect, Les Filatures du Parc, Paul Boyé Technologies, PETshka, Atelier REGAIN, and RECYCL’Occ Textile—united within a cooperative. Coleo manages general and operational direction, while RECYCL’Occ Textile holds the presidency.
Pilot Objectives
This pilot project, a flagship initiative of Fashion Forward, aims to:
- develop an industrial-scale regional solution for sorting and recovering textile waste;
- transform non-reusable textiles into secondary raw materials tailored to recyclers’ needs;
- ensure material traceability and promote recovery within circular value chains;
- achieve a 70% recovery rate for incoming textiles.
In the long term, the project aims to gradually increase the facility’s processing capacity, thereby helping to structure a genuine regional textile recycling industry.
Environmental, economic, social, and regional impact
A few key figures illustrate the scope of this pilot project:
- 1,000 tonnes of textiles processed in 2026;
- A controlled recovery rate of 70%;
- 2 automated sorting lines installed;
- 8 founding partners, representing various stages of the textile value chain;
- €2.2 million in industrial investment;
- A goal to integrate and train 10 sorting operators within the first year.
Inauguration program
The inauguration ceremony will be followed by a tour of the industrial site and a discussion on the challenges of the textile circular economy, concluding with a cocktail reception.
Registration is required via the online form: https://www.billetweb.fr/inauguration-recyclocal-textiles