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#MINIVOICES
TIME FOR A REVOLUTION IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY.
Borre Akkersdijk of textile developing company BYBORRE has big dreams. He wants to change the textile industry. He wants to change the textile industry. Democratisation, he calls it. Working together transparently towards a service model in which quality and sustainability are paramount. And that starts with setting a good example himself.
THE ENTIRE PROCESS TRANSPARENT.
"When I develop materials or product, I always want to know where it comes from and go to the heart of it. And so, at BYBORRE, we do that by finding out the origin of the ingredients of textiles. The yarns, the machines, the machine builders. We then discuss sustainability with all the parties involved. We make the entire process transparent. From the base of raw materials and energy, the people who come into contact with it, the end product, and how people use materials and products. Until the moment something is thrown away or goes back into the cycle."
BETTER, LESS AND MORE CONSCIOUS.
Sustainable business is about consciously using raw materials, according to Borre. "But also: how do you pass on all the information to the end-user so that they can also handle a product with awareness. How do you communicate that it is a raw material that you cannot just throw away? With textiles, that's very important. For Borre, sustainable business is the only way. "We are the generation that has seen how generations before us mostly took and used everything. Now there is no way back. Companies have to do better, less and more consciously. It's a no brainer for me. Openness is essential in this respect. Because behind closed doors, you don't know what's going on. If you make all the steps in the chain transparent, you will also identify where you are not doing so well, and then you can call in help for that. It all starts with knowing who you are producing for. Understanding the end-users, knowing how they are going to use something and for how long. Only then should you start making material. And that involves less material, but also a better product and dealing with it more consciously."
TEXTILES AS A SERVICE.
How can we rethink the industry, the production process and the sales process? Borre thinks about this a lot. "It is time for a change in the industry. Maybe it should be like in music, that it becomes a shareable industry. Where people are allowed to use things based on service and not ownership. That there is also more respect for it. I believe there is much room for improvement and hope to be a source of inspiration. Changes can happen quickly. If oil becomes scarce, for example, certain raw materials cannot be made. And certain products cannot be shipped or only at extremely high prices. Then consumers will no longer choose cheap shit. It will eventually become too expensive. So people will very quickly look for other solutions."
LEGISLATION TO CHANGE THE INDUSTRY.
"The pandemic and the climate are forcing people to change at a rapid pace. And I see that happening in the next five years. It starts with openness in the chain. If that is in place, then legislation is the next step. And then things can move very quickly for large companies. Not necessarily voluntarily," Borre laughs. "I do want to have good talks with politicians. How can we get legislation through together to make large parties responsible for what they do? And give them the necessary push to make them think. Can't we move the moment of sale to a service model, where making better products is more rewarding than grabbing more margin and squeezing people? That is where we can make great progress. And this is also an opportunity for BYBORRE to use our network. To make the world a little better and more accessible."