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Latest research shows that in North-West Europe (NWE) 4,700 kilo tonnes of post-consumer textile waste (PCT) is generated annually.
For materials such as wool, acrylic or their blends, which together represent 3.3% of the collected PCT in NWE, there is a mature mechanical recycling market, with technologies at scale.
Simultaneously, increased awareness and fluent communication within the entire value chain, including the end-of-life, can support a clear understanding of the materials that can be processed by recyclers, and therefore, inform brands and manufacturers on their strategies to design products that can be recycled.
When discussing not only the use of recycled content, but the design of garments in accordance to recyclability parameters, a significant minority of the brands interviewed have already implemented such strategy within their products.
Few technologies for certain materials are at scale and the relative immaturity of most recycling technologies, as well as the lack of in-depth understanding of availability and potential of recycled fibres and fabrics made from PCT by brands and consumers, limits the certainty on the future of recycled textiles.
The Worn Again process expects a significant percentage of non-rewearable textiles to be suitable for their process as ‘feedstock’ materials, particularly pure polyester and polyester-cotton blends.