This week, we invited stakeholders to celebrate the launch of Videre at Sentralen in Oslo. The event was a great success, attracting a large audience and featuring inspiring presentations from the people behind the initiative. The strong engagement demonstrated that the textile industry is ready for the next step.
"Today, we have talked about the vision and ambition behind Videre: to develop solutions that will support an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles, with a focus on efficient infrastructure, digital systems, research and development, and competitive and harmonised value chains across the Nordic region,"said Stig Ervik, CEO of NORSIRK.
Videre has been established and is owned by NORSIRK, while NF&TA serves as a strategic partner and will act as NORSIRK’s specialist textile division within the new producer responsibility organisation. Together with Linda Refvik, Managing Director of NF&TA, Ervik was among the speakers at the event.
"It is fantastic to see so many familiar faces here today. The industry has been waiting for a textile EPR scheme for a long time. For NF&TA, it has been important to find the right partner for the journey ahead. NORSIRK, with its extensive experience in operating producer responsibility systems and its leading expertise in Norway, was a natural choice for us," said Linda Refvik.
In his opening remarks, Ervik highlighted the importance of the partnership between NORSIRK and NF&TA.
"Videre combines NORSIRK’s long experience in developing and operating nationwide producer responsibility schemes with NF&TA’s unique industry knowledge, network and expertise in textile value chains, product development and circular opportunities," said Ervik.
Important Updates from Norway and Sweden
On stage, Siv Elin Ånestad, Senior Advisor for Circular Economy at NORSIRK, presented the latest developments related to producer responsibility for textiles. Gro Haram, Sustainability Manager at NF&TA, provided an update on the new project that NORSIRK and NF&TA have received funding from Innovation Norway to carry out.
"NORSIRK has received funding from Innovation Norway to initiate a collaborative project on the collection, sorting and treatment of textiles, with the aim of developing circular solutions in this field. NF&TA is leading the project, which runs from January 2026 to September 2027. We have successfully engaged many of Norway’s most important textile stakeholders in the project’s reference group," said Haram.
At the same time, NORSIRK and NF&TA have taken the initiative to strengthen Nordic cooperation on textile EPR. Regulatory developments are progressing in parallel across the Nordic countries, and the need for infrastructure, markets and risk-sharing mechanisms is shared across borders. Together with producer responsibility organisations and research partners from Sweden, Denmark and Finland, a joint application has been submitted to Nordic Innovation with the aim of coordinating development efforts and strengthening the foundation for circular solutions in the region.
The event also featured Birgitta Losman, Sustainability Strategist at the University of Borås in Sweden, who shared the latest developments and experiences from Sweden.
Developing Solutions Together with the Industry
In Norway, more than 7,500 companies are part of the consumer textile value chain. The sector employs over 44,000 people and generates annual revenues of approximately NOK 93 billion.
"Extended Producer Responsibility means that producers and importers of clothing, footwear and other textiles sold in Norway, including online retailers, will be required to finance the collection and treatment of textiles when they become waste. Our task going forward is to work closely with the textile industry to ensure that Videre’s solutions meet the needs of those affected by the EPR scheme," said Linda Refvik.
Videre operates with a clear Nordic perspective, aiming to support harmonised requirements and shared producer responsibility systems across the Nordic countries. The company is therefore developing its systems in close dialogue with the textile industry in both Norway and the wider Nordic region, drawing on practical experience, expert knowledge and real-world business processes.
"Responsibility follows the textiles. Videre helps everyone in this important value chain make smarter choices every step of the way. By preventing waste rather than cleaning it up afterwards, we create new value from textiles, for brands and for the industry as a whole," Ervik concluded.
