Europe generates around 15.2 million tonnes of textile waste each year, with only a small share collected and sorted for recycling, a new report by Boston Consulting Group and ReHubs has found.
The report, Advancing Textile Circularity, notes that 13.3 million tonnes of this waste is post-consumer, such as discarded clothing, highlighting the need for coordinated action to tackle textile waste and scale a circular textile economy.
Textile-to-textile recycling currently represents less than 1% of post-consumer textile waste in Europe, at a time when waste volumes continue to rise. As the report notes, if ‘decisive action’ isn’t taken, European textile waste could reach the equivalent of 80 football stadiums filled with discarded textiles every year by 2035.
‘Systemic change’
“Europe has the opportunity to build a truly circular textile ecosystem, but it will require systemic change across the entire value chain,” commented Robert van de Kerkhof, CEO at ReHubs. “Textile-to-textile recycling is technically possible today, but scaling it requires coordinated action from industry, policymakers, and investors. Through collaboration across the value chain, ReHubs is helping to drive the transformation needed to build a circular textile economy in Europe.”
The technology to scale textile-to-textile recycling already exists, but requires a ‘critical tipping point’ of around 2.7 million tonnes of recycling annually by 2035 to make it economically viable.
Achieving this will require substantial investment, the report, adds, of around €8–11 billion in capital expenditure alongside €5–6.5 billion in annual operating costs, as well as coordinated supply- and demand-side measures across the value chain.
In addition, the report notes that textile-to-textile recycled fibres represent a new product category with higher processing costs than both virgin fibres and existing recycled materials – meaning said fibres would be unable to compete in the current market without targeted enabling mechanisms and policy support.
‘Economic conditions’
“This report shows that scaling textile-to-textile recycling in Europe is achievable, but it requires the right economic conditions,” commented Nicolas Manuelli, managing director and partner at BCG.
” Textile-to-textile recycled fibres are a new product category with higher processing costs, meaning they will not scale without enabling mechanisms. Supply-side and demand-side measures, combined with appropriate financing tools and supportive trade and industrial policies, will be essential to unlock investment and accelerate the transition to a circular textile system.” Read more here.
