Change4Circularity (C4C)

Change4Circularity (C4C) is a multi-year research initiative aimed at generating the most comprehensive knowledge base to date on plastic pollution, household sorting behaviours, and the management of plastics and textile waste in Denmark. The project brings together leading academic partners across design, environmental science, and education, and it builds on the unique national infrastructure of the annual Mass Experiment (Masseeksperimentet), Denmark’s largest citizen-science platform for schoolchildren.

C4C has engaged approximately 30,800 school students from all regions of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. These participants will contribute data on how plastics and textiles are used, sorted, discarded, and perceived in everyday life. By combining children’s observations with scientifically robust sampling and analysis, the project seeks to close critical knowledge gaps on where materials flow after use, why they often fail to circulate, and how households understand and navigate current sorting systems.

At the Royal Danish Academy, KLOTHING leads the textile component of the project. This includes designing the textile-focused Mass Experiment, overseeing data collection related to textile content, behaviour, and disposal, and translating these results into actionable policy insights. Through this work, KLOTHING examines how real-world use and sorting behaviours challenge existing assumptions about circularity, durability, and environmental impact—especially in current European regulatory frameworks such as Ecodesign, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF).

The project places particular emphasis on bridging everyday practices with policy design. As part of C4C, KLOTHING will develop recommendations on improving assessments of textile quality and environmental impact, ensuring they better reflect how garments are actually used, reused, and sorted in Danish households. This contributes to national and European discussions on textile regulation, fibre-to-fibre recycling, and the transition away from waste-intensive consumption patterns.

Funded by TRACE – Transition Towards a Circular Economy, Change4Circularity represents a rare opportunity to combine large-scale citizen science with advanced research and policy development. The project’s outcomes will support more effective circularity strategies and help shape future evidence-based decision-making across the textiles and plastics sectors.