RIga, October 7–8
PHOTO: Green liberty
Nordic-Baltic Textile Circularity
Forum 2026
OCTOBER 7
tExtended: From Evidence to Action for Textile Waste Reduction
9:00 Registration
9:30 Opening Keynotes: The Global and European Landscape
Setting the scene for the forum, speakers will present the latest European environmental data and policy directions, and discuss the current state of textile circularity in Europe from Regional, national, and municipal perspectives.
Lars Fogh Mortensen, Circular Economy Expert, European Environmental Agency
Mairita Lūse, Councillor, Riga City Council Agency
Lutz Walter, Secretary General, European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing
10:30 Coffee break
11:00 tExtended: Practical Results and Material Solutions
Marking the culmination of the 4-year Horizon Europe tExtended project, this segment presents the resulting blueprint and the regulatory and structural pre-conditions needed to decrease textile waste in the EU by 80%. It also presents the socio-economic and environmental life-cycle assessments of the demonstrated solutions.
Pirjo Heikkilä, Principal Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Ella Kärkkäinen, Research Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Diego Penaloza, Senior LCA researcher, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Claudia Esposito, Senior EU project manager, CARR Communications
12:15 Lunch
13:30 tExtended: Practical Results and Material Solutions
Sharing the near-commercial outcomes developed during the project, presenters will focus on experimental collection and sorting methods for reuse, remanufacturing, technical trials of soft mechanical recycling for workwear, the integration of post-consumer recycled content into new home textiles, and social-innovation spin-offs creating souvenirs from textile leftovers.
Miira Ojanen, Project Consultant, Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto
Susanna Raisko, Research Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Koen De Ruyck, General Manager, PURFI Manufacturing
Paulo Lopes, Raw Material Purchasing and Product Manager, Têxteis J.F. Almeida
Zara Huybens, Innovations and Sustainability Project Leader, De Kringloopwinkel
Dace Akule, Expert in Textile Circularity, Green Liberty
Carolina Soares, Project Manager and Researcher, ERT Textil Portugal (TBC)
15:00 Coffee break
15:30 Exhibition Focus Time and Speakers' Corner
Time to browse the exhibition, including digital tool demonstrations like tExtendifier, and hear short presentations from initiatives like TexMat, Trustex, and Sortex, and other innovative solutions proposed by forum participants (list of speakers to be published early in September).
17:00 Networking reception in cooperation with Lindström Latvia
OCTOBER 8
Building the Nordic-Baltic Textile Transition
8:45 Registration
9:00 Regional Context: Nordic-Baltic Setting the Scene
Speakers will outline current cross-border dynamics between the Baltic and Nordic countries, including strategic findings from a comprehensive systems view publication of the textile circularity project funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Offices in the Baltic states. This session will also introduce the Nordic-Baltic Textile Transition Group, a platform for companies, researchers, civil society, and public bodies to exchange knowledge and accelerate the region's circular transition.
Nina Hvid Enevoldsen, Director, Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Latvia
Helena Brown, Head of Political Team, European Commission Representation in Estonia, Former Member of the Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans
Kerli Kant Hvass, Expert in Textile Circularity
Betina Simonsen, CEO of Lifestyle and Design Cluster
10:00 Regional Deep-Dive: Replication Potential for Textile Waste Reduction
Presentations of key findings from the tExtended replication potential studies for the Baltic and Nordic regions, covering which pre-conditions are already in place and which are still missing, followed by Q&A.
Ella Kärkkäinen, Research Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Dace Akule, Expert in Textile Circularity, Green Liberty
Chair: Edwin Maes, Consultant at Centexbel
11:00 Coffee break
11:30 Policy Debate: Implementing Extended Producer Responsibility
Industry representatives, policy analysts, and EPR scheme operators will discuss how the impending and evolving regulations will impact brands, collectors, reuse actors and waste managers, drawing on lessons from early-adopting countries like Latvia, while looking at regional alignment and the future of EPR.
Piotr Oksza-Łapicki, H&M Group, Regional Public Affairs and Sustainability Manager for East Europe
Viktorija Nausėdė, CEO of LOOPTEX
Paul Doertenbach, Head of Landbell Textile EPR Programme, Landbell Group
Jens Maage, Senior Advisor, Sirk Norge
Jānis Aizbalts, Chairman of the Management Board at Eco Baltia VIDE and Chairman of the Management Board of Latvijas Zaļais Punkts
Moderator: Dace Akule, Expert in Textile Circularity, Green Liberty
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Innovators and Startups Redesigning the Value Chain
Practitioners will present approaches to circularity across different segments of the value chain from automated collection and sorting to repair, commercial reuse platforms, digital product passport integration, R-strategies, and fiber-to-fiber recycling technologies. A panel discussion will follow on the challenges of bringing circular business models and technologies from pilot stage to market at scale.
Presenters:
Halit Kosmaz, CEO of Cyclothe
Ivars Šmits, CEO of Lindström Latvia and Ambassador of Circular Economy Institute
Viktorija Nausėdė, CEO of LOOPTEX
Sienna Kruk, CEO of Emmy Clothing Company
Kristel Kiris, Advanced R&D Project Manager, Protex Balti
Frederik Søby, Tender Coordinator, NewRetex
Pål Erik Haraldsen, Founder and CGO, Norsk Tekstilgjenvinning
Panelists:
Ali Harlin, Research Professor at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, co-founder of Infinited Fiber Company and Rester
Kerli Kant Hvass, Expert in Textile Circularity
Michael Schragger, Founder and Executive Director at The Sustainable Fashion Academy (TBC)
Arūnas Paukštė, Consultant, former Head of Business Development in Humana People to People Baltic (TBC)
Moderator: Linda Helmane, Head of Investment at the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency
15:00 Coffee break
15:30 Concluding Panel: What Will It Take to Accelerate the Textile Transition?
Members of the Nordic-Baltic Textile Transition Group will reflect on lessons learned, current priorities, and opportunities for stronger regional cooperation towards a more circular textile system.
Moderator: Frederik Thrane, Head of Circular Economy, Lifestyle and Design Cluster
16:45 Closing remarks
17:00 End of the forum
Nordic-Baltic Textile circulaRity forum 2026
The Nordic-Baltic Textile Circularity Forum 2026 brings together researchers, innovators, policymakers, businesses, NGOs, and practitioners working to accelerate the transition towards circular textiles. The Forum connects European innovation with Nordic-Baltic regional action, offering insights into current challenges, promising solutions, policy developments, and future priorities. Through expert talks, discussions, demonstrations, and networking, the event creates a space to exchange knowledge, build partnerships, and explore practical ways to reduce textile waste and strengthen circular systems.