Written by Sadun Sayem Faruque - Editor: Anastasia Eginoglou, Kata Krnács
"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it." - Robert Swan
When I entered the recycling depot, the sound of machinery filled my ears. As if to remind people of present-day consumerism, piles of sorted waste appeared out front like miniature mountains in an eerie silence. Industrial acridity and the earthy smell of paper and cardboard in motion all mixed into a single scent, borne on the air. Working with all deliberate speed, workers hand-sorted as well as machine-types. There was an ever-tightening feeling. Once I sat down in his office with a cup of hot tea, the conversation never went back to idle pleasantries. “We are recycling textiles in the local area,” he began, his voice heavy with worry. “Here, we pile up 20 tons every week. That waste has no outlets, though—nobody to take this waste and turn it into something meaningful.” After pausing for a moment, he added, “In addition, the textile waste often gets mixed with paper, cardboard, and other materials. Sorting until all the chamber is a nightmare. A breakthrough is what we need. But with no investors or market for recycled textiles, we seem doomed to failure." His remarks painted a gloomy picture of the complexities of dealing with textile waste. This was not just about unsorted mountains of refuse; the landscape was also filled with systemic deficiencies in recycling infrastructure, in investment, or in public understanding. The unspoken question hung there: where does 20 tons of textile waste go?
The mere opposition of walking, the sheer enormity of the challenge was impossible to ignore. Operationally, the byproduct paper, textiles mixed with this, are meant heaps of textile waste weren't just a problem but instead glimpsed as something far larger. Taking place at every stage of how modern consumerism unavoidably gives birth to steam in the face of systemic difficulties some products bring before our eyes: textile waste.
For example, why are piles of clothes so often mixed with other materials? The answer lies in two things. Consumers, ignorant of possible effects, discard their old clothes as a single heap. Then, municipal systems are not strictly regulated in terms of sorting products from one another, leading to what's called 'contamination': the result is rubbish unrecycled on a large scale.
Even if the waste were sorted perfectly, there is yet another momentous question on the horizon: where does work go after that? For recyclers, the issue is not simply working the textiles out of them but finding a downstream customer. There is no demand for recycled textiles and no supportive investments in new technology. This loop is still wide open.
The problem is not limited to one single facility or country. Throughout Europe, textile waste simply accumulates to an alarming degree. While there are high goals across the European Union for circular economies or reducing landfill waste but in practice, they're falling far short indeed. The elephant in the room (so to speak) is obvious: without systemic change, it is unlikely that applications of textile recycling will provide unimaginable benefits to environmental protection.
These are important questions for us all:
- In many areas, why do we still tend to mix textile waste with other materials?
- How can we further overcome obstacles to both attracting investment in textile recycling and successful start-ups?
This is no longer just an abstract problem—urgent and concerted action is required on a broad front. Until we tackle these root causes, the mountain of textile waste will only grow higher, leaving us with few opportunities for sustainable fashion.
"Highlights below, where does refuse go? One big worry is that because recyclers have to work the textiles out of it at a higher level, there should be a good downstream market left for them. In addition to the lack of demand for recycled textiles, there is no capital from corporations to invest in this technology. This is a still glaring loop.
Yet, as dire as the situation may be, bright spots of life and hope can be found around the globe. Companies like Sweden’s Renewcell, for instance, are opening new textile recycling pathways by converting discarded clothes into a high-quality raw material known as Circulose. Worn Again Technologies in the UK is developing closed-loop solutions to recycle blended fabrics, for example. These efforts prove that at-scale solutions already exist, but they need significant support—and in return, they are already giving back significant sinusoidal rewards.
Moreover, there are many other organizations doing incredible work on textile recycling. Wolkat (Netherlands) is a family-owned company founded in 1948 and has always managed the entire chain of textile recycling itself—from collections and sorting to recycling and production—returning discarded textiles as new raw materials and products, all while aiming for 2025, when it plans to make sure there will be no such thing as textile waste. VIVE Textile Recycling (Poland) handles around 330 tonnes of material per day, dividing it into 700 categories, and repurposes textiles into industrial wipers and other items for export on all continents. Part of the leading group in this area, another name that stands out is Boer Group (Netherlands), which works internationally to keep textiles in the value chain, helping the path to circularity. Sysav is a waste and recycling management company in Sweden whose textile recycling innovation is focused on collaboration for establishing a circular economy for textiles. Finally, one more key player is Re-tex (Denmark), which specializes in eco-friendly textile recycling solutions and promotes the need for waste reduction and fabric life extension.
These companies show how innovation and collaboration can combat textile waste. But to achieve a sustainable future, we need serious backing from governments, investors, and consumers.
Governments are also coming in. The EU has introduced ambitious strategies for tackling textile waste, such as the separate collection of textiles from 2025 under its Waste Framework Directive. Broad-based innovation subsidies and green incentives are provided to boost recycling and sustainable fashion practices.
Meanwhile, fashion brands are joining the fray. Leading players like Patagonia and Stella McCartney are building circular business models that utilize recycled materials and are designed for longevity and recyclability. Even fast-fashion giants such as H&M are launching schemes like sign collection initiative—trying to minimize waste through recycling their constituents.
This is something everyone needs to be mindful of: Why should textile waste, in a lot of places, still find its way into garbage? 'We do it anywhere else now with everything else.'
In which ways can we give further impetus to both investment in recycling and business start-ups?
No more is this just an academic question, but it requires urgent and decisive action in all respects. Until we actually deal with these root causes, the huge hill of textile rubbish only worsens, leaving people little opportunity for sustainable fashion too. We can look forward to a vision of the future in which there will be no textile waste clogging up landfills but only a thriving circular economy. Governments, companies, and consumers working together can seal off the loop endlessly, re-engineer attitudes to sustain an environment that lasts for generations beyond the present.
References:
European Commission. (2020). A new Circular Economy Action Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/
Renewcell. (n.d.). About Circulose®. Retrieved from https://www.renewcell.com/circulose/
Worn Again Technologies. (n.d.). Closing the loop on textiles. Retrieved from https://wornagain.co.uk/
Patagonia. (n.d.). Our Footprint. Retrieved from https://www.patagonia.com/our-footprint/
H&M Group. (n.d.). Garment collecting program. Retrieved from https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/
Stella McCartney. (n.d.). Sustainability Mission. Retrieved from https://www.stellamccartney.com/experience/en/sustainability/
Wolkat. (n.d.). About Wolkat. Retrieved from https://wolkat.com/en/
VIVE Textile Recycling. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.vivetextilerecycling.pl/
Boer Group. (n.d.). Textile Recycling for a Circular Economy. Retrieved from https://boergroup.eu/
Sysav. (n.d.). About Sysav. Retrieved from https://www.sysav.se/en/
Re-tex. (n.d.). Recycle Your Textiles. Retrieved from https://www.re-tex.dk/