Marks & Spencer, New Look and Sainsbury’s join Oxfam to build UK textile recycling network

British retail giants Marks & Spencer, New Look and Sainsbury’s have joined UK charity Oxfam in partnering with textile development company Circle-8 to launch The Circuit, an initiative designed to develop circular textile supply chains using clothing collected in the UK.

The initiative brings together retailers, textile recovery organisations, automated sorting specialists, recyclers, manufacturers and digital innovators to develop routes for end-of-use textiles to be recovered and converted into raw materials for future textile production.

Around 1.4 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles were generated across the UK in 2024, according to an associated report, with almost half estimated to be non-reusable. The Circuit is intended to address the infrastructure gap around these textiles and help develop the commercial conditions needed to make fibre-to-fibre recycling viable at industrial scale.

Rachel Cosgrove-Pearce, retail director at Oxfam, stated: “Developing the infrastructure to recover valuable fibres from end-of-use textiles is an important part of building a fashion system that uses fewer virgin resources and creates less environmental harm, and The Circuit brings together the expertise and investment needed to move this forward at scale.”

Circle-8, the development company behind the project, is working on the infrastructure, partnerships and commercial frameworks required to connect textile recovery with future recycled material supply. This includes Automated Textile Sorting and Pre-Processing facilities, which will sort and prepare recovered textiles for existing and emerging recycling technologies.

The first phase of The Circuit will begin in January 2027 at Oxfam’s site in Batley, Yorkshire, and will focus on automated textile sorting, developing reporting and traceability frameworks, identifying opportunities for recovered materials and establishing relationships with recycling partners, supporting both mechanical and chemical recycling processes.

The founding participants are inviting further retailers, recyclers and value-chain partners to join the initiative as it develops. Development partners include Biffa and Ekman Group, while recycling partners include Usha Yarns, Kipas, Reju and Worn Again Technologies.

In a statement, Katharine Beacham, Marks & Spencer's head of sustainability & materials in fashion, home and beauty, said the retailer needs “better solutions to recover and recycle the materials” in clothing once it reaches the end of its usable life.

“The Circuit is an important step forward, bringing together organisations from across the retail industry to help create viable routes for non-reusable textiles and support a more circular future for fashion,” she added.

Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing managing director Ben Smith commented that the project would allow the retailer to “explore how post-consumer textiles generated here in the UK can be given a new life as valuable raw materials”.

Circle-8 CEO and co-founder Cyndi Rhoades said retailers involved in developing circular textile value chains would be positioned to influence their future development, before adding: “No one organisation can create a circular textile value chain alone, and we look forward to welcoming others to The Circuit."