The International Fiber Recycling Symposium will hold its fifth gathering of textile and fiber industry professionals and academics in San Francisco, CA this coming June 8-10, 2015 at the San Francisco State University Downtown Campus, 835 Market Street.
This will be the first time the International Fiber Recycling Symposium will be held on the West Coast. Over 20 presentations will be presented in research and design categories with presenters from Japan, Pakistan, Denmark, Copenhagen, Canada, and the United States. Wednesday afternoon, the Textile Exchange U.S. West Coast Region will offer a workshop, “Living in the Material World – Closing the Loop.”
Fiber recycling is a concept that is still being introduced in the United States. Over 22 million tons of fiber waste is deposited in US landfills every year. This symposium is particularly important for the city of San Francisco where the city has a goal of zero waste by 2020. Gail Baugh, president of PeopleWearSF (a trade organization for apparel & textile professionals in the SF Bay Area), commented, “With my many years of senior management experience in the apparel business, I see that the need is great to engage manufacturers and retailers with researchers to conserve resources and to reduce apparel and textile waste in our landfill. Having attended 4 of these symposia, I felt compelled to bring this symposium to San Francisco, where there is great desire to adopt new ideas for a sustainable apparel industry.”
One featured speaker at the symposium will be Alexa Kielty of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. She will discuss solid waste diversion accomplishments as well as what San Francisco needs to address the issue of discarded textiles. While San Francisco is currently diverting over 80% of its solid waste from landfill, its goal of Zero Waste by 2020 must include a strategy to divert fiber waste. At the Conference conclusion on Wednesday, Textile Exchange U.S. West Region will hold a workshop on Recycled/Upcycled Textiles and Closed Loop Systems.
Let this symposium create inspiration and motivation to change how fiber is discarded and recycled for new industry opportunities. Register Now for the 5th International Fiber Recycling Symposium (http://cob.sfsu.edu/events/2015-international-fiber-recycling-symposium/registration).
For Additional Information:
• Gail Baugh, gail@peoplewearsf.org
• Connie Ulasewicz, cbu@sfsu.edu
• International Fiber Recycling Symposium Site (http://cob.sfsu.edu/events/2015-international-fiber-recycling-symposium)