Wouter Reedijk - Marketeer

Inter-chain cooperation is vital in a circular economy, especially in a sector as polluting as the textile industry. That’s why Sympany marketing professional Wouter Reedijk firmly believes in the power of collaboration. Alongside the communication tasks inherent to his role, he’s also involved in data management and setting up collaborations to make the clothing industry more circular.

What is Sympany’s role in the circular economy?

We collect textiles in order to repurpose them. We sell the good quality clothing so it can continue to be worn. After reducing consumption, this is still the most sustainable option in the product life cycle. Approximately 70 to 80% of what we take in is suitable for second-hand shops in countries located in Eastern Europe and Africa, for example. 20% is recycled before being used as insulation material or cleaning rags.

We invest our profits in innovations that make the textile chain more circular. One example is making new yarn from old cotton. These innovations are desperately needed, both for the chain and for us. The textile industry is highly polluting, and the quality of the textiles we collect is declining sharply. Clothing is practically no longer wearable after just one wash. As a result, the quantity of reusable textiles is becoming ever smaller and the number of kilograms we have to recycle is increasing. All this while there are only a few ways to solve this on a large scale. That literally puts pressure on our revenue model. And sales are also lacking. In order to achieve a circular economy, the links in the chain must be prepared to invest in and pay for recycling.

““A marketer should be involved in more than just communications and data management.””

What role do you play in your own organisation to advance the circular economy?

I’m involved in more than just communications and data management. I’m also always on the lookout for opportunities for inter-chain collaboration, because that’s the only thing that will make the circular economy viable. I do this externally but certainly also internally, through innovation, communication and sales. All this helps ensure we can keep our own business up and running. I sometimes feel like a kind of connection agent between the departments. As a marketing professional, you have to bring the outside world in, identify trends and help the organisation change with the times. We can’t keep doing what we’ve always done. We need to invest and innovate to make the textile chain more circular and to capitalise on our own business opportunities arising from circularity.

““Sympany invests its turnover in innovation to increase the circularity of the textile chain.””

Every organisation has conventional thinkers who want to continue doing things the way they’ve always been done, assuming that the money will continue to flow. As a marketing professional, I try to bring people closer together internally. The circular economy is all about innovation. This innovation may require time and money now, but this is where our future opportunities lie. I try to show people that higher purpose. But this takes baby steps. Rather than focusing on the sale of a product, I focus on our company’s vision. Textiles are widely considered to be an environmentally harmInter-chain cooperation is vital in a circular economy, especially in a sector as polluting as the textile industry. That’s why Sympany marketing professional Wouter Reedijk firmly believes in the power of collaboration. Alongside the communication tasks inherent to his role, he’s also involved in data management and setting up collaborations to make the clothing industry more circular. ful raw material. We play an important role in the chain and feel responsible for bringing about change.

What role do you adopt outside your organisation to help advance the circular economy?

In the Netherlands alone, 145 million kilograms of textiles are discarded each year. Approximately 65% of these textiles are suitable for recycling. We can’t solve the waste problem on our own, so we seek out cooperation with other parties. These include municipalities who don’t just want to get rid of their textiles but also help ensure their citizens’ textiles don’t end up in bulky waste. We see ourselves as more than a ‘textile collector’. We also make municipalities aware that we want to close the textile loop and invite them to participate in this endeavour. We inform them about the polluting textile chain and, using data, show them how the entire chain works. Our efforts include independent research into producer responsibility. It’s my job to support my colleagues in relationship management to get this story across to the municipalities we work for.

““We inform municipalities about the polluting textile chain and, using data, show them how the entire chain works. Our efforts include independent research into producer responsibility.””

Our responsibility extends beyond the end of the chain and textile collection. After all, if we continue to focus solely on our primary processes, change will happen far too slowly. So, despite our limited sphere of influence, we also want to motivate other parties in the chain to work together to improve recycling. Another option we’re considering involves motivating consumers with tips on how to use textiles for longer and to make more conscious purchases, possibly through podcasts. Unless everyone in the chain steps up to take responsibility, the textile industry alone will account for 25% of global CO2 emissions by 2050.

How do you ensure that your marketing communications are valid?

We do everything we can to have a transparent chain. We accomplish by supplying reliable figures and engaging independent research parties. We’re also transparent about what we can improve in our chain and our role in that. Show your entire chain to all of your stakeholders and have the courage to think beyond your own context. I think you have to be honest and say, ‘as a company, we can’t yet be 100% sustainable, but we’re striving towards that in the following ways.’ If only 1% of your business is sustainable, and you flaunt that without a clear strategy to increase it, you’re really just greenwashing. As a company, you have to raise your ambitions. As marketing professionals, I think we should aim for more than just higher sales figures. We need to think about the added value we can offer our environment, and that will make the difference.

Where did you learn about circularity?

I studied Media & Communications, so I didn’t learn anything about the circular economy during my studies. I’ve been working at Sympany for eighteen months, and I already know a lot about this subject. If you think and act with the circular economy in mind, you automatically gain allies. Find the people inside and outside your organisation who share your values about sustainability. To use another marketing term, look for the ‘early adaptors’. That will propel you forward; the rest will follow. You can learn a great deal by talking to people and getting to know the processes. I’m curious about people, and I have an open mind. I’m not even sure exactly how I acquired my knowledge. Through extensive reading and listening, I secretly developed a passion for this subject.