How post-industrial waste can be recycled successfully
3 Jun 2025
Although production waste is an everyday occurrence in the textile industry, its potential often remains untapped. A pilot project shows how systematic waste management, targeted material collection and the use of digital tools can not only save resources and reduce emissions but also efficiently integrate circular processes into existing supply chains.
The textile industry has to cope with substantial quantities of waste, especially during the production phase when almost half of the materials are lost as post-industrial waste. Despite high quality and traceability, almost no use is made of this recycling potential. However, effective waste management, which includes ensuring the traceability of waste within the production facility through a correct flow of information, especially with regard to material composition, is crucial for establishing circular supply chains. Systematic collection and recycling can reduce resource waste and CO₂ emissions. Inadequate waste management, on the other hand, leads to a shortage of suitable recycling materials. Consequently, recycling companies are reluctant to invest because they have no reliable access to the quantities of waste required.
“The precise separation and collection of post-industrial waste is essential for efficient circular recycling.”
“Waste management must become an integral part of sustainable supply chains,” says Marina Chahboune, founder of Closed Loop Fashion (CLF). “The precise separation and collection of post-industrial waste is essential for efficient circular recycling.” It was with this in mind that CLF developed the Textile Waste Management Standard (TWMS by CLF), which takes account of standards such as the Global Recycled Standard and the Higg Facility Environmental Module. TWMS includes assessment, action planning, capacity building and process optimisation, and is supported by digital tools such as an app for recording waste streams.
A public-private partnership project with Pakistan's H. Nizam Din & Sons Private Limited manufacturing group and Alpinter SA, a Belgian distributor of relief supplies, illustrates this approach, which focuses on establishing a circular economy in the humanitarian sector. To meet the growing demand for emergency supplies, non-sustainable production methods with high emissions are used. At the same time, the textile industry has no suitable measures for closed-loop circulation. Thus, the aim was to establish new infrastructures that contribute to reducing emissions by recycling post-industrial textile waste and producing fully recycled blankets for refugees.
A life cycle analysis (LCA) using Eco Chain identified relevant environmental impacts across the entire ‘cradle to gate’ product life cycle – from the raw material to loading at the port of Karachi – whereby the focus was on the climate change indicator, measured in kg CO₂ equivalents. Primary data collection along the supply chain permitted key hotspots to be identified and informed sustainability decisions to be made. The LCA revealed that raw materials such as fibres and yarns account for the largest share of the carbon footprint (68 %), followed by textile and material production and packaging (23 %). Targeted measures were implemented accordingly.
The blankets were redesigned to reduce raw-material-related emissions. The aim was to maximise the recycled content of the three-layer construction with 50 % of the insulation being made from textile production waste from blankets and 50 % from GRS-certified recycled polyester fibres. The outer knitted fabric is made from 100 % GRS-certified recycled polyester yarn derived from PET bottles. Additionally, the yarn has been completely replaced by GRS-certified recycled yarn. The result is a 66 % reduction in the environmental impact in this segment. Packaging – the second environmental hotspot – was also revised in keeping with the waste hierarchy: disposable plastic was eliminated, recycled materials used and packaging simplified, which reduced the environmental impact by a further 35 %.
Altogether, these measures reduced the CO₂ footprint of the recycled blankets by 57 % compared to the conventional product, representing a saving of 6.5 kg CO₂-e per blanket. Extrapolated to one million blankets, this is equivalent to the emissions of 515 round-the-world car journeys. These results leave no doubt about the potential of cycle-orientated solutions when it comes to cutting the environmental impact of disaster-relief blanket production.
Another key element was the introduction of clearly defined collection and sorting processes right on the production lines. Employees were trained to recognise residual textile materials at an early stage, categorise them correctly and store them in suitable, labelled containers. These measures not only led to an increase in the quality of the secondary raw materials obtained but also reduced inefficient re-sorting and the associated costs. It also became apparent that the establishment of transparent material flows is crucial. For this, the project relies on digital solutions, in particular a mapping app developed by CLF, which enables waste flows to be recorded and tracked precisely. Thanks to this data pool, it was possible to systematically identify and document optimisation potential.
Challenges are still being faced when it comes to handling stocks of emergency supplies following product-specification changes, such as the switch from conventional to recycled polyester, which renders existing inventories unusable and illustrates not only the volatility of the sector but also the risks of unforeseen impacts on the environment despite sustainable objectives. Work is currently underway to further increase the proportion of recycled material. The aim is to integrate 5-15 % fibre-to-fibre content in the filament, including the use of fibres from blanket waste, all in accordance with current industry standards. In addition to blankets, other humanitarian products such as tents will be included in the future.
“Besides the direct ecological and economic effects, professional waste management also strengthens the resilience of organisations,” says Ali Ahmad, CEO of H. Nizam Din & Sons Private Limited. “Supply chains become more transparent, material availability more predictable and regulatory requirements, for example in the area of sustainability reporting, easier to fulfil.”
Honouring the project with the Sustainable Initiative of the Year Award by Development 2030 underscores the relevance of practical approaches for more circularity in complex supply chains. For companies and organisations wanting to use resources more efficiently and make their supply chains more sustainable, the project offers a concrete framework for action with clear collection and sorting processes, the establishment of transparent material flows and targeted cooperation with local recycling structures.
Lisa Wagner has been working in the fashion industry for over 20 years, both on the industry, agency and editorial side and more than half of this time in the sustainable segment. Most recently, she was Head of Brand Communication at the European market leader for ecologically and socially fairly produced textiles. Since 2020, she has been working as a freelance journalist and communications consultant near Frankfurt am Main. Reconciling business, ecology and the interests of different stakeholders is close to her heart. Photo: Nina Paul
