Only 1% of clothing worldwide is recycled into new garments. Why does fibre-to-fibre recycling fall short of its potential? What roles do design, technology, policy and consumer choices play? This article highlights the biggest hurdles – and the solutions paving the way to a truly circular economy.
The biggest challenge for the textile and especially the clothing industry as they move towards a circular economy is one tiny number: just 1 per cent1 of clothing worldwide is reprocessed into new clothing, i.e. recycled as part of a fibre-to-fibre recycling process in a closed loop. Another number makes clear the gigantic challenge facing textile recycling: 148 million tonnes. This is the amount of clothing waste that is estimated to be produced each year until 2030.2 As a comparison, this is equivalent in weight to around 370,000 fully loaded Airbus A380s. Although it is difficult to break this down according to type of waste, the number presumably includes both pre and post-consumer waste as well as second-hand goods that are sorted and either reused, recycled or disposed of.
The recycling paradox
Henning Wilts, Head of the Circular Economy Department at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, gets to the heart of the recycling paradox: ‘There is hardly any other industry in which there is such a wide gap between potential and reality as there is in the textile industry’. There are many reasons for this: the complex material mixes of synthetic and natural fibres that cannot be separated or can only be separated using high amounts of energy; the deteriorating fibre quality in the recycling process, such as with mechanical recycling, the higher costs of recycled products compared to new goods and a lack of incentives in manufacturing to use recycled materials instead of original fibres.
Moreover, the recycling chain from collection to recovery is fragmented and largely manual, making efficient processes more difficult. A consequence of this is that the majority of used textiles are exported as second-hand goods (mainly clothing), sent to landfill, incinerated or mechanically downcycled into cleaning cloths, insulation materials and filling materials for upholstered furniture. Some of these solutions, particularly mechanical recycling, already help to conserve primary fibres. However, to incorporate textile resources into the fibre-to-fi-bre cycle on a large scale, much more is needed.
Just 1 per cent of clothing worldwide is reprocessed into new clothing.
‘Many African countries are now positioning themselves in a targeted manner as a sustainable alternative to other textile production locations around the world. They are focusing on environmentally friendly textile manufacture that incorporates renewable energies, water reprocessing and fair working conditions.’
‘All this makes Africa a promising location for sustainable textile production and whose sustainably manufactured products are attracting interest from an increasing number of European brands.’
The pressure to transform is growing
Above all, the pressure to act is growing. On the one hand, the business model of used textile recycling is under pressure due to its oversaturation with low quality textiles. Traditional export markets such as Africa have long restricted the import of second-hand goods. East African countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi have already imposed import restrictions on second-hand clothing so as to strengthen their domestic textile industries. On the other hand, increasing raw material prices and EU requirements are increasing the pressure to effect transformation: from 2025, mandatory separate collection, extended producer responsibility and the Ecodesign Directive with the digital product passport planned for 2025 will set mandatory standards for product responsibility and a sustainable recycling economy.
Design is a driving force behind transformation as up to 80 % of the environmental impact of a product is determined in the design phase.
Ways to achieve a circular economy
The key to a functioning fibre-to-fibre cycle may well lie in a combination of solutions and approaches: recyclable, circular product design that avoids material mixes and – as the ideal solution – relies on high-quality mono materials.
In any case, the design of a product is a driving force behind transformation as up to 80 per cent of the environmental impact of a product is determined in the design phase – this is where the type of material, the processing techniques and construction methods not only determine the later longevity and repairability, but also the recyclability of the product. In addition to the design, technological innovations also play a key role, such as intelligent sorting plants that use AI, machine learning and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) as well as robots and automation technology in order to better separate mixed textiles and accessories such as buttons, patches and zips.
Establishing a comprehensive collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure is just as important as the digital integration of the value chain with coordinated streams of waste and data communication that supplies recycling companies with the right raw materials and the necessary information about their composition. If mandatory requirements are introduced that demand higher proportions of recycled materials, we must also ask the question of how these can be verified.
Furthermore, established recycling processes such as mechanical recycling must be developed further in order to maintain fibre quality and ensure a high-quality fibre-to-fibre cycle. New recycling processes must also be developed, such as the recent development of chemical recycling that uses chemicals to break down used textiles into their basic components so they can be processed into new fibres (depolymerisation).
Many people are hoping that chemical recycling in particular will lead to higher recycling rates while still maintaining high fibre quality. In contrast to mechanical recycling, however, the process is still in its infancy insofar as industrial implementation is concerned. ‘A circular economy is often portrayed as an industry that functions in large cycles. In actual fact, a circular economy consists of many small, circular approaches that are implemented along the entire value chain’, says scientist Wilts.
The closed loop will not work without more conscious consumption
Technological developments will not be sufficient to effect lasting change, emphasises Johannes Leis: ‘Investment in new sorting and recycling processes and in circular textile products will only be worthwhile if the demand is actually there’, says the textile researcher from the Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) in Chemnitz. The years of pricing pressure on secondary raw materials have prevented improvements in recyclate quality, explains the recycling expert. He is convinced that without more conscious decisions on the part of consumers, a closed loop will not work. Although in surveys, the majority state that they favour sustainable products, when it comes to specific purchase decisions, the reality is often somewhat different due to the higher prices. ‘Companies must create new sustainable textile offerings, but consumers also need to rethink old habits and purchase clothing in a more conscious way, wear clothes for longer, look after them better and dispose of them properly’, says the STFI researcher. He is seeing an encouraging shift towards a focus on the greater longevity of textile products in new business models centred around the borrowing and repairing of shoes and clothing. ‘The technological approaches to recycling and circular products and business models must now be established on the market by policy-makers, researchers and companies and, last but not least, influenced by purchase decisions made by consumers’, says Leis.
Texpertise Econogy Insights relating to textile recycling
Overall findings
Recycled materials are the most important category in the Econogy Checks across all trade fairs.
With a total of 287 recycled materials, Techtextil sends a clear signal that recycled materials are also growing in importance in the field of the technical textiles. Recycled PES/PET (78 exhibitors) and GRS (56 exhibitors) were particular focal points.
Sustainable orientation of Intertextile
253 products with a focus on recycling make Intertextile the most important textile recycling hub in Asia.
‘For large-scale textile recycling, the entire waste management chain must be streamlined through innovation at every stage.
Upcoming EU legislation will serve as an important enabler, but its implementation will be complex.’
‘It is vital to include the right industry voices – while also addressing the impact of regulation on the Global South, where much of the world’s clothing is manufactured. Collaborative solutions are essential to lay the groundwork for scaling up textile-to-textile recycling.’
Key Learnings
Low recycling rate and challenges
Just 1 per cent of the clothing produced worldwide is turned into new clothing in the fibre-to-fibre recycling process Complex material mixes, low fibre quality and the high costs of recycled products compared to new ones are making the recycling process harder.
Growing pressure for transformation
Rising raw material prices, new regulations and export restrictions for second-hand goods demand solutions.
The necessity of a holistic solution
Success factors in a circular economy include recycling-oriented design, new technologies, an improved recycling infrastructure and more conscious consumption.
‘Texpertise Econogy’ Insights
The article is taken from the latest issue of the ‘Texpertise Econogy’ Insights. These provide answers to questions such as: which SDGs are particularly relevant to the industry? What are the top 5 transparency standards? How are natural and synthetic fibres faring in relation to one other? Which process standards are most widespread? Where does the industry currently stand when it comes to textile recycling?
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