How mapping works: the Rotterdam example

FABRIX approach in spatial mapping 

 

FABRIX treats circularity in the textile and clothing sector as a sectoral and spatial challenge, emphasising collaboration between proximate actors and the localisation of resource-looping strategies. A necessary first step is to understand where T&C business activities take place in Rotterdam and Athens. FABRIX maps the sector using firm-level data, locating individual businesses according to their activities. This makes it possible to see how different parts of the value chain are distributed in relation to one another across a city. 

An important methodological decision is determining which businesses belong to the textile and clothing sector and which activities can be classified as circular. FABRIX drew on two existing reports to avoid making an arbitrary selection. The first, Mode in Rotterdam (translation: Fashion in Rotterdam), was commissioned by the municipality and identifies the activity codes relevant to the local fashion sector. The second is a background report from PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, which identifies codes associated with circular practices. 

 

Spatial mapping in Rotterdam 

 

The main data source for mapping Rotterdam was LISA, which draws on the Chamber of Commerce Trade Register and covers Dutch businesses from 1996 to 2024. The dataset includes each business’s activity code, geographical location, and employment figures. Because the data forms a time series, it shows not only where activity is located but also how the sector’s composition and spatial distribution have changed. 

The hotspot mapping suggests that Rotterdam’s circular textile activity shifted away from the city centre towards Zwaanshals and Oude Noorden during the late 2010s. Meanwhile, second-hand retail and repair became more evenly distributed across the city, while waste collection remained concentrated around industrial areas on the periphery. The number of textile and clothing manufacturing businesses increased without a corresponding increase in manufacturing employment, implying a shift towards smaller businesses. 

Location quotients were subsequently added to identify patterns that hotspot maps might miss. A location quotient compares an activity’s share in one area with its share in a wider reference area. FABRIX calculated location quotients both for Rotterdam relative to the Netherlands and for individual neighbourhoods relative to Rotterdam as a whole. 

At the national level, Rotterdam’s relative specialisation in design increased markedly, while its apparel-manufacturing profile gradually converged with that of Amsterdam. Within Rotterdam, location quotients revealed a broader geography of design and production than the hotspot maps alone had shown, identifying dispersed but persistent activity in northern, southern and peripheral neighbourhoods. However, neighbourhood-level location quotients must be interpreted cautiously when based on small numbers of establishments, because only a few businesses can produce a high ratio. This highlights the need to visualise and aggregate business-level data in ways that preserve useful local detail while making small-number effects clear, an issue the FABRIX platform aims to address. 

Combining spatial and relational mapping 

 

Hotspot maps and location quotients show where businesses are concentrated and whether an area is relatively specialised compared with a wider reference area. They do not, however, reveal who works with whom. Spatial mapping alone cannot show whether nearby businesses exchange materials, share knowledge or collaborate. 

FABRIX addressed this limitation by combining spatial analysis with semi-structured interviews involving three groups: businesses across the value chain, facilitators, and municipal officers. These groups also represent the three intended user groups of the FABRIX platform. Interviewees reported that even geographically close businesses often experimented with circular practices independently, with limited awareness of one another’s work or collaborators. Many identified events such as Dutch Sustainable Fashion Week and Circular Textile Days as valuable opportunities for learning and meeting peers but noted that these events tended to attract the same participants, limiting the formation of new connections. 

The maps were also used directly with participants. During a workshop with businesses selected through the second FABRIX open call, participants examined the maps together, located their activities within them and explained the spatial conditions in which they operate. This helped connect patterns in the data with the experiences and local knowledge of businesses. For instance, an upcycling business may be based in the city centre while storing materials in another municipality, creating logistical difficulties for product development and experimentation. Some start-ups preferred to begin and test their ideas near the city centre but anticipated moving to industrial areas when they needed larger facilities.  

The FABRIX platform is intended to bring these spatial and relational layers together. It enables businesses to make their activities, networks, capabilities, and needs visible, while helping facilitators and policymakers identify potential connections, value-chain gaps, and spatial patterns. 

Finally, the maps provide a baseline against which policies and initiatives can be assessed. Comparing the results with Rotterdam’s policy documents indicated that the areas designated by the city for circular-economy activity do not always coincide with the locations of textile and clothing businesses. Placing the two side by side makes it possible to examine whether policy support is directed towards the places where sectoral activity is actually occurring