Building Momentum for Circular Textile Systems in Indonesia: CFP Indonesia Marks One Year of Progress
Indonesia has reaffirmed its ambition to become a major player in the global circular textile economy, pledging to accelerate circularity efforts despite ongoing challenges. At the one-year progress event of the Circular Fashion Partnership (CFP) Indonesia, held on 23 October in Yogyakarta, over 100 stakeholders from government, industry, and civil society demonstrated their commitment to scaling circular solutions across the nation’s textile sector.
Hosted by Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) in partnership with Rantai Tekstil Lestari (RTL), the event gathered senior representatives from the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS), the Ministry of Creative Economy (BEKRAF), and the Ministry of Industry, alongside leading industry players, global fashion brands, waste recyclers, and academia. Under the theme Building Momentum for Circular Textile Systems in Indonesia, participants reflected on the program’s progress to date and outlined next steps toward a more sustainable and circular textile ecosystem.
Government representatives underscored that circularity is central to Indonesia’s green growth agenda.
“The government of Indonesia has Green Industry Promotion strategies, where the circular economy is included and textile industry becomes one of the prioritized sectors to be developed.” said Rolly R. Purnomo, Secretariat Deputy for the Deputy of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation at the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS).
Echoing this, Yuke Sri Rahayu, Deputy for Cultural and Design Creativity at BEKRAF, highlighted the opportunity for creative and inclusive job creation through textile waste innovation. “Creative products made from textile waste will continue to grow, driving job creation in the sorting, processing, and repair sectors. The global market is also growing as the world’s appreciation for recycled products increases, ” she noted.
Her Highness Gusti Kanjeng Bendara Raden Ayu Adipati Paku Alam X emphasised the social and environmental urgency of addressing textile waste and called for lasting collaboration between government, industry, and communities.
Implementation partners presented their first-year findings and recommendations through comprehensive presentations and panel discussions, focusing on policy enablers for textile-to-textile recycling and industry perspectives on scaling local participation. Discussions underscored Indonesia’s significant potential to play a leading role in the global recycling value chain — a space that remains largely undefined. It also highlighted opportunities arising from Indonesia’s recent free-trade agreements, which could further strengthen the country’s competitiveness in sustainable manufacturing and circular textile innovation. In parallel, the panels reflected growing optimism within the industry, as local manufacturers and industries expressed willingness to participate in the value chain, and continuously improve the quality and standards of recycled textile products to meet international demand.
As CFP Indonesia, part of the Global Circular Fashion Forum, enters its second year, the partnership will continue advancing evidence-based policy dialogue, piloting scalable solutions for textile and footwear waste, and promoting responsible chemical management in recycling processes.
Launched in October 2024, the Circular Fashion Partnership Indonesia is a two-year, cross-sectoral initiative designed to enable a close-the-loop approach to post-industrial textile waste and strengthen resilience across Indonesia’s textile and fashion industry. The program is led by Global Fashion Agenda with Rantai Tekstil Lestari, supported by the H&M Foundation, and implemented with Closed Loop Fashion, Reverse Resources, and Circle Economy. The partnership engages a group of global fashion brands, which have nominated 14 sourcing factories across West Java and Central Java to build a more resilient and circular textile ecosystem.
Are you a brand producing in Cambodia, Indonesia, Bangladesh or Turkey, concerned about the amount of post-industrial textile waste within your local supply chain? Do you know whether this waste is recycled or if it eventually imposes risk of being dumped, landfilled, or burned? Are you interested in diverting these waste materials to more preferred disposal methods or even transforming them into recycled fibres and reintroducing them into your production cycle?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, we invite you to join the Circular Fashion Partnership in the respective countries of sourcing. To learn more, contact us at cfp@globalfashionagenda.org
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