🇰🇷 A bold first step for Korea’s textile & apparel industry

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment, over 20 leading companies and institutions from Korea’s textile and fashion sector have launched the “Apparel Circular Utilisation System” Council — tackling excess inventory, Digital Product Passports (DPP), and recycling through three dedicated working groups.

This marks a pivotal moment to address fast-evolving global regulations such as the EU’s ESPR and EPR, while accelerating Korea’s transition to a circular economy.

Our CEO 노힘찬 joins as part of CARE IDⓒ, a DPP service provider rooted in hands-on experience addressing secondhand and surplus apparel challenges — ensuring that circularity solutions are not only technically compliant, but also practical, profitable, and globally aligned.

Key priorities identified by the council:

1. Predictable roadmap – Clear government policy and targets to guide industry investment.

2. Technology–policy–demand cycle – Recycling innovation matched with enabling regulation and stable market demand.

3. Industry-grounded policy – Approaches tailored to Korea’s unique fashion industry structure, including high SME presence and inventory realities.

We welcome collaboration and questions — both on this initiative and on how CARE IDⓒ is preparing Korea for a global circular fashion future — in the comments below.