Textiles are used more often during events than you might think: merchandise, wristbands, tents, banners, flags, and stage decorations. The clothing industry also has a major environmental impact. You may know the images: brightly colored rivers due to dye wastewater, factories with poor working conditions, and piles of discarded clothing in the desert, to name just a few.
You might be thinking, ‘I’ve actually never really looked critically at the textile use at my event’, and you’re not alone. The festival Into the Great Wide Open is known as a frontrunner in circularity: from energy and water use to transport, food, beverages, and construction materials, everything is considered. However, until recently, little research had been done on how the festival manages its textile use. As a festival visitor and sustainable textile product developer, Doris Hondtong noticed this during the 2024 edition of ITGWO. After conversations with Lab Vlieland, the sustainability organization behind the festival, and the Green Deal Circular Festivals, they launched a study into how festivals and events can source textiles in a circular way.
RESEARCH
The research took into account which sustainable textile products are currently realistically available on the market for events to source. Industry experts were consulted across a wide range of textile products to form a clear picture of the most sustainable options. In the research, we made a distinction between merchandise and on-site textiles: all textile products found on the festival grounds, such as flags, banners, tents, and stage decorations. We chose to make this distinction because the staff responsible for these two product types differs. Merchandise is often handled by the marketing team, while on-site textiles are typically purchased by technical producers. Moreover, each category has different product requirements, and therefore, some different sustainability recommendations.
SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL SELECTION
When looking at the overall environmental impact of textile products, material selection is generally one of the key impact hotspots. To guide festivals in this process, we’ve developed the Sustainable Material Table below. The table is based on the Modint Fiber Matrix, Made-By Environmental Benchmark for Fibers, and Textile Exchange Preferred Fibers & Materials Matrix.
The color grading in the table is based on two main principles:
- Select low-impact materials: The color coding (from grey to green, top to bottom) shows the relative environmental impact per fiber type.
- Prioritize regenerative materials: The change in saturation (left to right) represents this prioritization:
- Select plant-based materials produced through agriculture
- Over animal-based materials, which require more land and resources
- Again, over synthetic materials, which are fossil-based and therefore finite
THE CIRCULARITY OF A PRODUCT
We don’t just want to create a sustainable product that reduces negative impacts on the planet and people. We also want to create a circular product: one that keeps materials in circulation and designs out waste. There are many R-strategies to support circularity. You might reduce material use by asking yourself: Is this product really needed for the event? Or, you can encourage reuse by making the product from second-hand materials, or by borrowing or renting instead of buying new. Another approach is to extend the use phase by ensuring that products are durable and repairable. To close the loop completely, it’s also essential to support recycling, both by using recycled materials and by designing for recyclability. A key strategy for the latter is to use mono-materials: fabrics made from only one type of fiber instead of blends, making them easier to recycle at the end of life.
LOOKING AT THE COMPLETE PICTURE
Beyond material selection and circularity principles, there are other important aspects of sustainable textile design: most textiles are dyed or printed, many on-site textiles must be flame resistant, and it’s vital to consider production locations and working conditions. To create a truly sustainable and circular product, all these factors should be considered. As an event organizer, it can be difficult to be an expert in all these areas since you typically don’t oversee the entire production process yourself. That’s why it’s important to build evidence- and trust-based relationships with your suppliers, who can provide product-specific sustainability expertise.
ON-SITE TEXTILES
Balancing all these sustainability aspects can be especially complex for textiles with specific functional requirements, which is often the case for on-site textiles. To support producers in navigating this complexity, we’ve developed a table that cross-references general product requirements for on-site textiles with the specifications of the most commonly used materials.
Let’s look at banners as an example. It should be noted that one of the biggest environmental improvements for banners can be achieved by avoiding PVC, which is not only unsustainable but also toxic. When considering both functionality and sustainability, banners seem to be best made from recycled polyester rather than plant-based materials such as cotton. The reasoning becomes clear when comparing the two main product requirements for banners:
- It must support graphic printing
- Plant-based materials: Available printing techniques are difficult to apply on large-scale canvasses and often have a relatively higher environmental impact.
- Polyester: This material can be printed using a technology called sublimation, an efficient and relatively sustainable printing method.
- It must be flame resistant
- Plant-based materials: These can only be made flame resistant through chemical impregnation, which is a temporary treatment often involving harsh chemicals.
- Polyester: Synthetic fibers can be made inherently flame resistant (IFR), providing permanent flame resistance without additional chemicals.
WHAT’S NEXT
In early 2026, two decision trees, one for on-site textiles and one for merchandise, will also be published. These will provide a more detailed step-by-step circular textile sourcing plan, building on the insights shared in this article.