Scaling textile recycling in Europe—turning waste into value
Today, more than 15 kilograms of textile waste is generated per person in Europe. The largest source of textile waste is discarded clothes and home textiles from consumers—accounting for around 85 percent of the total waste. The generation of textile waste is problematic, as incineration and landfills—both inside and outside Europe—are its primary end destinations. This has several negative consequences for people and the environment. But a significant transformation lies ahead that could create a large and sustainable new industry that turns waste into value.

There are multiple ways to address the waste problem, including the reduction of overproduction and overconsumption, the extension of product lifetime, and designing products for increased circularity. One of the most sustainable and scalable levers available is fiber-to-fiber recycling—turning textile waste into new fibers that are then used to create new clothes or other textile products. This space is characterized by fast-paced innovation and a race toward scale. Some technologies, like mechanical recycling of pure cotton, are already established. Other technologies, like chemical recycling of polyester, have been subject to intense R&D and are on the brink of commercialization. Once fully mature, our estimates indicate that 70 percent of textile waste could be fiber-to-fiber recycled. The remaining 30 percent would require open-loop recycling or other solutions like producing syngas through thermo-chemical recycling. However, today less than 1 percent of textile waste is fiber-to-fiber recycled due to several barriers to scale that need to be overcome.

Collection, sorting, and preprocessing limit the amount of textile waste made available to fiber-to-fiber recycling. Collection rates are currently 30 to 35 percent on average, and a large share of the unsorted gross waste is exported outside Europe. Furthermore, most fiber-to-fiber recycling technologies have strict input requirements for fiber composition and purity—for example, elastane is problematic for several of these technologies. Consequently, textile waste needs to be scanned and sorted according to the relevant input requirements. As another example, jeans must have their zippers and buttons removed—a problem that needs to be solved by preprocessing. Advanced, accurate, and automated fiber sorting and preprocessing are not yet developed. Finally, to reach their full potential, the fiber-to-fiber recycling technologies must further expand their ability to handle fiber blends, lower their costs, and improve their output quality—these bottlenecks prevent the circular textile economy from scaling. Our analysis indicates that by overcoming these barriers, fiber-to-fiber recycling could reach 18 to 26 percent of gross textile waste in 2030, as illustrated in Exhibit 1.

To reach this scale, we estimate that capital expenditure investments in the range of €6 billion to €7 billion would be needed by 2030. The entire value chain, including textile collection, sorting, and recycling, requires investments to reach scale. Our analysis indicates that this industry could—once it has matured and scaled—become a self-standing, profitable industry with a €1.5 billion to €2.2 billion profit pool by 2030. The textile recycling value chain could create a new, valuable raw material that enables more apparel production in Europe, which may lead to additional value creation above what is quantified in this report.

Beyond the direct economic benefits, scaling textile recycling unlocks several environmental and social benefits. For example, in our base-case scenario, about 15,000 new jobs could be created and CO2e emissions could be reduced by approximately 4 million tons—equivalent to the cumulative emissions of a country the size of Iceland. By quantifying into monetary terms several other impact dimensions like the secondary effects to GDP from job creation, CO2e-emission reduction, and water- and land-use reduction, our analysis shows that the industry could reach €3.5 billion to €4.5 billion in total annual holistic impact by 2030—coming to an annual holistic impact return on investment of 55 to 70 percent (Exhibit 2).1

To capture this opportunity, collaboration and innovation will be key
The identified bottlenecks preventing scale are significant and will require several stakeholders to act boldly. Textile recycling in Europe will not reach a favorable state by 2030 unless major action is taken quickly. This report identifies five main ingredients for success.
• Critical scale. The textile recycling value chain cannot function at small scale. Critical scale across the value chain is required to provide sufficient feedstock2 to the necessary fiber-to-fiber recycling technologies, and to allow for those recycling technologies to operate at scale. Therefore, the industry must set bold scaling targets and meet them.
• Real collaboration. Several of the main challenges ahead are best solved in a highly collaborative manner. Business leaders across the value chain, investors, and leaders of public institutions would need to come together in an unprecedented way to engage in a highly operational joint effort to overcome the barriers to scale.
• Transition funding. Although our analysis indicates that the textiles recycling industry could—once it has matured and scaled—become self-standing and profitable, transition funding will be needed in the near term. Examples of such funding include subsidies (potentially Extended Producer Responsibility [EPR] funding) and a green premium (potentially shared by brands and consumers). Public–private solutions may be needed.
• Investments. Several parts of the value chain must be built out almost from scratch, which requires significant capital expenditure. Our analysis indicates that sufficient economic value can be realized to make up for the required risk. Private investors would lead this journey by taking initiative to finance building out the value chain.
• Public-sector push. Leaders of public-sector institutions would have to help drive textile recycling. Measures include driving up collection rates, limiting the export of unsorted textile waste, engaging in demand stimulation, creating harmonized frameworks for increased circularity, as well as other initiatives.
Fiber-to-fiber recycling at scale can help address Europe’s waste problem by turning waste into value. The European apparel and textile industry can start expanding the required infrastructure for collection, sorting, and closed-loop recycling today. This report establishes the opportunity at stake for textile circularity and highlights actions required to capture it. Furthermore, we hope this report can be a foundation for further research and collaboration to establish textile recycling at scale in Europe.

Global Textile Recycling Market Overview
Textile Recycling Market Size was valued at USD 7.2 Billion in 2022. The Textile Recycling industry is projected to grow from USD 7.7 Billion in 2023 to USD 12.8 Billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.60% during the forecast period (2023 - 2032). The expanding public knowledge of textile recycling and the growing environmental concern about the generation of textile waste, are the key market drivers enhancing the market growth.
Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review
Textile Recycling Market Trends
• The rising environmental concern about textile waste production is driving the market growth Growing social awareness of textile recycling and growing environmental concerns about the manufacturing of textile waste are anticipated to drive market expansion. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that textile waste takes about 5% of landfill area. The average amount of textiles produced annually in the United States is 25 billion pounds or 82 pounds per person. Over the projection period, the aforementioned factors are anticipated to fuel demand for textile recycling. Recycling textile waste promotes environmental sustainability. A prospective recycling strategy called upcycling maximizes the use of energy, raw materials, and water while minimising its negative effects on the environment. In addition, recycling textiles has a lower environmental impact than landfill disposal and textile incineration. Resource recovery can produce significant environmental benefits by replacing goods derived from primary resources. Over the course of the projection period, all of the aforementioned variables are anticipated to stimulate market expansion.

The United States has one of the greatest textile industries in the world, according to the National Council of Textile Organisation of the U.S. Additionally, the U.S. produces a significant amount of garbage from wasted textiles. The average American tosses away about 70 pounds of textiles each year, according to the Council for Textile Recycling. In the upcoming years, it is anticipated that the aforementioned reasons will increase demand for textile recycling. Additionally, it is expected that an increase in textile waste will be produced due to population growth and expanding consumer spending power, raising management issues. In order to address problems with managing textile waste and encourage the adoption of a circular economy in the nation, a number of government agencies and private businesses are looking at textile recycling. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Report 2022 states that 14.7% of all textiles in the nation were recycled in 2018.

The average life of a given garment is getting shorter, which contributes to an increase in the production of textile and clothing waste. Due to the landfill disposal and incineration process, which results in greenhouse gas emissions, this has a significant negative influence on the environment. Recycling textiles significantly lowers greenhouse gas emissions and stimulates economic growth, claim the EPA and SMART. Furthermore, it is projected that innovations in recycling practises and ground-breaking research in the area will support market expansion. For instance, LIST Technology AG displayed a lyocell T-shirt made entirely of recycled material in February 2022 at the International Conference on Cellulose Fibres, announcing a breakthrough in the textile recycling business. Thus, driving the Textile Recycling market revenue.

Textile Recycling Market Segment Insights Textile Recycling Material Insights
The Textile Recycling Market segmentation, based on Material, includes cotton, polyester & polyester fiber, wool, nylon & nylon fiber, and others. Cotton segment dominated the global market in 2022. Recycled cotton is a sustainable choice since it requires significantly less resources than conventional or organic cotton and reduces textile waste. Cotton is one of the main contributors to textile waste because of its high demand and widespread use in clothes and other textiles. Wool clothing has a longer shelf life and superior inherent durability in the textile industry.
Textile Recycling Textile Waste Insights
The Textile Recycling Market segmentation, based on Textile Waste, includes pre-consumer and post-consumer. The post-consumer segment dominated the global market in 2022. Clothing that has been damaged, rejected, worn out, or is no longer in style makes up post-consumer textile waste. Post-consumer textile waste includes any clothing that a consumer throws away.
Textile Recycling Distribution Channel Insights
The Textile Recycling Market segmentation, based on Distribution Channel, includes online and retail & departmental stores. Online segment dominated the Textile Recycling Market in 2022. Online sales now make up about a quarter of all retail sales, and the industry is expanding quickly. Retailers who ignore e-commerce risk having less business as more and more customers place orders online.
Textile Recycling Process Insights
The Textile Recycling Market segmentation, based on Process, includes mechanical and chemical. Mechanical segment dominated the Textile Recycling Market in 2022. This is primarily due to the fact that there are many market participants who recycle textiles mechanically rather than chemically.
Textile Recycling End Use Industry Insights
The Textile Recycling Market segmentation, based on End Use Industry, includes apparel, home furnishings, industrial & institutional, and others. Apparel segment dominated the Textile Recycling Market in 2022. It consists, among other things, of waste generated by the excess fabric used in manufacturing, rejected or damaged clothing, and post-consumer discarded clothing and footwear. The typical lifespan of a new garment has dramatically decreased over the past 20 years, increasing the amount of trash produced by the clothes industry.
Figure 1: Textile Recycling Market, by End Use Industry, 2022 & 2032 (USD Billion)
Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review
Textile Recycling Regional Insights
By region, the study provides the market insights into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. The North America Textile Recycling Market dominated this market in 2022 (45.80%). An increase in consumer spending on products and services is to blame for this. Due to this, there is now a greater need in the area for textile recycling activities as well as sustainable options for managing textile waste. Further, the U.S. Textile Recycling market held the largest market share, and the Canada Textile Recycling market was the fastest growing market in the North America region.
Further, the major countries studied in the market report are The US, Canada, German, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, and Brazil.
Figure 2: TEXTILE RECYCLING MARKET SHARE BY REGION 2022 (USD Billion)
Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review
Europe Textile Recycling market accounted for the healthy market share in 2022. This is due to rising government backing from the various nations and an increase in recycling-related programmes. Further, the German Textile Recycling market held the largest market share, and the U.K Textile Recycling market was the fastest growing market in the European region
The Asia Pacific Textile Recycling market is expected to register significant growth from 2023 to 2032. Due to growing worries about the environmental effects of textile waste, expanding government initiatives for managing textile waste, and ongoing development of cutting-edge technologies for textile recycling, it is anticipated that demand for textile recycling activities will rise in this region over the course of the forecast period. Moreover, China’s Textile Recycling market held the largest market share and the Indian Textile Recycling market was the fastest growing market in the Asia-Pacific region.
Textile Recycling Key Market Players & Competitive Insights
Leading market players are investing heavily in research and development in order to expand their product lines, which will help the Textile Recycling market, grow even more. Market participants are also undertaking a variety of strategic activities to expand their global footprint, with important market developments including new product launches, contractual agreements, mergers and acquisitions, higher investments, and collaboration with other organizations. To expand and survive in a more competitive and rising market climate, Textile Recycling industry must offer cost-effective items.
Manufacturing locally to minimize operational costs is one of the key business tactics used by manufacturers in the global Textile Recycling industry to benefit clients and increase the market sector. In recent years, the Textile Recycling industry has offered some of the most significant advantages to medicine. Major players in the Textile Recycling market, including Anandi Enterprises, American Textile Recycling Service, Boer Group Recycling Solutions, I:Collect GmbH, Infinited Fiber Company, Patagonia, Prokotex, Pure Waste Textiles, Retex Textiles, and Unifi, Inc., are attempting to increase market demand by investing in research and development Materials.
For the textile and nonwovens industries, Lenzing AG (Lenzing) manufactures and sells fibres and cellulose. The company sells a variety of goods, including acetic acid, furfural, xylose, and magnesium lignin sulfonate as well as lyocell fibres, filament yarn, modal fibres, viscose fibres, pulp, and sodium sulphate. Its goods are used in the production of clothes, farming supplies, interior and hygiene items, hazard safety supplies, engineering goods, and packaging materials. Additionally, the business provides engineering, consulting, and mechanical construction services. It has manufacturing sites in the US, China, the UK, Austria, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Compagnie de Saint-Gobain (Saint-Gobain) manufactures building materials and construction-related products. Numerous varieties of glasses, ceramic tiles and associated products, plastics, pipes and associated items, home improvement supplies, gypsum, industrial mortar, roofing products, and external wall products are among the company's product lines. Additionally, the business sells performance polymers, glass textiles, and mineral ceramics. ADFORS, British Gypsum, Certainteed, CHRYSO, GCP APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES, NORTON, RIGIPS, weber, SAINT-GOBAIN, and Isover are only a few of the brands under which it sells these goods. The automotive, aerospace, health, defence, energy, security, and food and beverage industries all use Saint-Gobain products. Along with its affiliates and subsidiaries, the corporation conducts business throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
Key Companies in the Textile Recycling market include
• Anandi Enterprises
• American Textile Recycling Service
• Boer Group Recycling Solutions
• I:Collect GmbH
• Infinited Fiber Company
• Patagonia
• Prokotex
• Pure Waste Textiles
• Retex Textiles
• Unifi, Inc.
Textile Recycling Industry Developments
March 2022 A contract was inked by HYOSUNG TNC and TOPTEN to collaborate on the creation of high-quality environmentally friendly products.
May 2023 The European Union adopted a new regulation on waste textiles. The regulation aims to reduce the amount of textile waste going to landfill and incineration by increasing the amount of textile waste that is recycled.
Textile Recycling Market Segmentation
Textile Recycling Material Outlook
• Cotton
• Polyester & Polyester Fiber
• Wool
• Nylon & Nylon Fiber
• Others
Textile Recycling Textile Waste Outlook • Pre-consumer
• Post-consumer
Textile Recycling Distribution Channel Outlook
• Online
• Retail & Departmental Stores
Textile Recycling Process Outlook
• Mechanical
• Chemical
Textile Recycling End Use Outlook
• Apparel
• Home Furnishings
• Industrial & Institutional
• Others
Textile Recycling Regional Outlook
• North America
• U.S.
• Canada
• Europe
• Germany
• France
• UK
• Italy
• Spain
• Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• China
• Japan
• India
• Australia
• South Korea
• Australia
• Rest of Asia-Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Middle East
• Africa
• Latin America

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