PCIAW® and Members Host Thought Leadership on Circular Workwear Solutions at Textiles Recycling Expo Europe 2026
Brussels, Belgium – 24–25 June 2026
The Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCIAW®) will take centre stage at Textiles Recycling Expo Europe 2026, hosting an expert-led panel session on one of the sector’s most pressing sustainability challenges: bringing genuine circularity to uniforms, workwear, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The free-to-attend international exhibition and conference, taking place at Brussels Expo on 24-25 June 2026, convenes global leaders across the textile recycling value chain to advance circular solutions for textile waste spanning clothing, footwear, fibres, and nonwoven materials. Attendees will explore cutting-edge developments in sorting, shredding, and recycling technologies, with representatives from manufacturers, technology providers, fashion brands, and sustainability professionals all in attendance.
The Panel: Bridging the Circularity Gap
PCIAW® will host a specialist panel session titled “Bridging the Circularity Gap in Uniforms, Workwear and PPE,” moderated by
Yvette Ashby, (CEO and Founder of PCIAW®) and featuring expert voices from across the professional clothing supply chain, including Debbie Huntley (Sustainability Manager at PULSAR), Natalie Wilson (Managing Director at Workwear Solutions International), Annabelle Hutter (Managing Director of Santis Textiles), and Toomas Allikas (Founder & CEO at Greenful).
While mainstream textile circularity conversations tend to centre on fashion and retail, this session will shine a light on the distinct challenges confronting the professional clothing industry. Uniforms, workwear, and PPE must meet rigorous safety and performance standards while also satisfying escalating regulatory expectations, including EU Eco-design requirements and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks, creating a complexity that demands specialist attention.
Key Themes and Discussion Areas
Circular design and mono-fibre solutions. The panel will examine how the industry can reduce waste at source by shifting away from complex multi-fibre blends toward mono-fibre constructions that enable efficient textile-to-textile recycling. Hi-vis protective clothing will receive particular focus, where reflective materials and technical finishes can represent significant barriers to conventional recycling processes.
Scaling advanced recycling technologies. With diverse technical textile waste streams entering recycling systems, panellists will emphasise that no single solution will suffice. A plurality of approaches, including mechanical recycling of cotton, polyester, and nylon blends, will be essential as the sector approaches its 2030 sustainability targets.
Open-loop and hybrid recycling pathways. Acknowledging that current fibre-to-fibre recycling capacity cannot yet accommodate Europe’s full volume of technical textile waste, the session will also explore hybrid models transforming mixed textile and plastic waste into alternative materials such as circular construction products to ensure that difficult-to-recycle garments are diverted from landfill.
Infrastructure and policy recommendations. The discussion will address the persistent gap in specialised recycling infrastructure for technical garments within Europe, offering concrete recommendations to policymakers and industry bodies working to shape the future regulatory landscape.
Yvette Ashby, CEO and Founder of PCIAW® commented: “Professional clothing is an integral yet overlooked component of the global economy, ensuring people at work are identifiable and protected as they carry out their responsibilities. This often requires blended fibre compositions to provide the required performance functions, which creates barriers to the circular economy with current recycling technologies. Our job is to educate designers to understand how the workwear will be disposed at the end-of-life, before they start to develop the product. The PCIAW® thought leadership panel will feature some best practice examples of this in both uniforms and PPE.”
Aligning Industry Innovation with Emerging Policy
With regulators, environmental agencies, and representatives connected to European textile EPR initiatives expected to attend, the PCIAW® panel will serve as a critical forum for aligning industry-led innovation with evolving policy frameworks. By bringing together brands, manufacturers, recyclers, and policymakers in a single conversation, the session underscores the importance of collaboration in delivering scalable, systemic change across the professional clothing supply chain.
About PCIAW®
The Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCIAW®) is the leading global trade association for the professional clothing sector, representing manufacturers, suppliers, and brands across uniforms, workwear, and PPE.
About Textiles Recycling Expo Europe 2026
Textiles Recycling Expo Europe 2026 takes place on 24–25 June 2026 at Brussels Expo, Belgium. The event is the continent’s premier gathering for the textile recycling value chain, showcasing innovations in sorting, processing, and recycling technologies alongside a high-level conference programme.
Claim your free ticket to Textiles Recycling Expo 2026 – here
