CRRA2020

Special Project Manager

Dr. Joanne Brasch holds a PhD in Textile Economics and Environmental Analysis from the UC Davis, where she also received a Master’s degree in Textile Science and a Bachelor’s degree in International Agricultural Development. With more than 12 years of academic work experience, Joanne has held lecturer and research appointments at UC Davis, CSU Sacramento, and Donghua University in Shanghai, China. She was the Sustainability Researcher for the UC Davis Health System, leading projects on waste mitigation and environmentally preferable purchasing on campus. She currently works as Special Project Manager at CPSC to lead projects that promote a circular economy.

Textile Waste Policies to Drive a Circular Economy

The clothing we choose to wear everyday has an enormous impact on the planet, while being manufactured, worn, or when discarded. American consumers need education on what to do with textiles other than putting in landfill and they need a convenient collection system, but the issue remains that collection and processing of textile waste is extremely costly. The California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) is a nonprofit with the mission to shift California’s product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design that promote environmental sustainability.

CPSC will share information on how communities are addressing textile waste through local policies, campaigns, and voluntary product stewardship. Local jurisdictions in California are challenged to reduce their waste generation and many are looking at textiles, the sixth most prevalent material type in the overall waste stream according to a 2014 Characterization of Solid Waste Report by CalRecycle, as a priority to drive a circular economy.

Director of Communications & Affiliate Programming

Jess Daniels is the Director of Communications & Affiliate Programming for Fibershed, creating written and visual collateral connecting wearers to the ecological and social source of their clothing, and facilitates an international network building soil-to-soil fiber systems. She has a decade of experience working with local food and fiber systems and her work has been published in the journals Agriculture and Human Values and Making Futures. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Visual Art from Brown University, where she completed textiles coursework at Rhode Island School of Design and studied in India, Tanzania, New Zealand, and Mexico.

Developing Regional and Regenerative Fiber Systems

Our clothing can either continue to be a major part of the problem, or it can be part of the solution. A key to a circular textile economy is developing regional and regenerative fiber systems to create permanent and lasting systems of production with regionally grown fibers, natural dyes, and local talent. Fibershed works with communities and corporate partners at different scales to design systems that mitigate waste and will include case studies such as the first "community supported cloth" that's 100% compostable and Climate Beneficial™ and The North Face Cali Wool collection.  

Textiles Expert and Tribal Liaison

Tracey Harper’s career spans air pollution enforcement and policy in the 1980s to currently serving as CalRecycle’s textile subject matter expert and Tribal Liaison. She previously served as Advisor to the CIWMB Chairperson and liaison to local governments and Air Resources Board liaison to Southern California. Ms. Harper was also the Nevada County Recycling Coordinator, successfully bringing the county to a diversion rate above fifty percent in under five years. Ms. Harper is now tasked with the challenge of addressing the massive waste of textiles in the state. She has a B.A. in Political Science-Public Service from the UC Davis.

The Magnitude of Textile Waste

The clothing we choose to wear everyday has an enormous impact on the planet, while being manufactured, worn, or when discarded. According to a 2014 Characterization of Solid Waste Report by CalRecycle, more than 1.24 million tons of textiles were disposed in California landfills as the sixth most prevalent material type in the overall waste stream, comprising 4 percent of landfilled waste. Every year, Californians spend more than $70 million to dispose of used textiles in landfills. Ninety-five percent of this material is reusable or recyclable. California has set an ambitious goal of 75 percent recycling, composting, or source reduction of solid waste by 2020 by taking a statewide approach to decreasing California’s reliance on landfills. Managing our textile waste responsibly is essential to this effort. Ms. Harper will be providing updating statistics on the amount of textile waste and efforts CalRecycle is taking to address this issue.

Chair, Waste Prevention, Reuse & Repair Technical Council, CRRA