textile recycling news and archive

SMART announced as debut founding partner of first-ever textiles recycling expo USA

International trade association, the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), has been named as a founding partner of the inaugural Textile Recycling Expo USA. Set to take place April 29 to 30, 2026, in Charlotte, North Carolina, the trade fair is the first of its kind in the nation to focus solely on textile recycling. The...

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Fashion

90 percent of US imported second-hand garments are reused domestically in Guatemala

The global secondhand clothing market doesn’t necessarily carry a good name, as textile waste from developed countries has been disproportionately impacting countries from Ghana and Kenya to Uganda and Nigeria, according to Bank & Vogue. With many third-world countries lacking the proper infrastructure to handle the sheer volume of imported used...

Fashion

SMART urges local governments to use clothing bins responsibly

The Secondary Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), the largest international trade association for textile reuse and recycling, is imploring local governments to support using clothing bins nationwide to address the growing textile waste crisis. Citing the importance of bins as “indispensable for effective textile waste management,” SMART...

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Fashion |Opinion

Why fast-fashion is harming second-hand – and what we can do about it

June ended with yet another blow to Europe’s struggling post-consumer textiles sector: Texaid Germany filed for insolvency. This is a significant setback for the group and for the broader reuse and recycling ecosystem. Just as European policymakers begin to treat textile waste with the seriousness it deserves, the very infrastructure needed to...

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Fashion for Good and AltMat support adoption of next-gen fibres through new Altag Fibre Club

Global sustainability initiative Fashion for Good has announced a strategic partnership with AltMat today, a pioneering materials science company that transforms agricultural waste into high-value materials. It was one of the nine participants of Fashion for Good’s first South Asia accelerator programme back in 2020. In 2022, it was also part of...

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Reju announces first industrial size textile-to-textile recycling centre in the Netherlands

After openings its pilot plant “Regeneration Hub Zero” in Frankfurt, Germany in October of last year, textile-to-textile regeneration company Reju has announced its first industrial size textile-to-textile recycling centre in the Netherlands. Called “Regeneration Hub One,” Reju has selected Chemelot Industrial Park in Sittard, Netherlands, which...

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Business|Report

Textile Exchange: Fashion still relying on virgin, fossil-based synthetic fibres

Data from non-profit Textile Exchange’s latest Materials Market Report shows that the market share of virgin, fossil-based synthetics continued to increase in 2023, while that of cotton and recycled fibres declined. These findings correspond to those of a survey among 50 major fashion brands by NGO Changing Markets Foundation: The brands...

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Trashie partners with Steve Madden for recycling intiaitive

Footwear, clothing, and accessories brand Steve Madden has partnered with Trashie to launch a new recycling initiative for its customers. The new partnership sees Steve Madden leveraging the US-based company’s recycle and rewards platform to encourage customers to recycle their old and used apparel and footwear. Through the new recycling...

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Debrand opens first US facility in Ohio for scalable textile sortation

Debrand, a Canadian next-life textile solutions and logistics provider, has announced the opening of its first facility in the United States. Located in Columbus, Ohio, the new facility sees Debrand expand its innovative circular textile ecosystem in North America while strengthening its capacity to meet the growing demand for advanced, scalable...

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Fashion

Ganni introduces in-house recycling scheme to repurpose fabric waste

Danish fashion brand Ganni is introducing a new in-house recycling initiative to recycle its cut-off production scraps into new clothing. The affordable luxury brand explained that T-shirts are one of its key product categories, however, conventional production methods create up to 20 percent cut-off waste, meaning that Ganni produces 12 tonnes...

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Video: Chemical Textile Recycling - Documentary 'Fibers of Gold' [HD]

This documentary presents the work of two research groups that have invented chemical processes to recycle textile waste, revolutionising the way raw materials for textiles can be sourced in the future. Source: Youtube, Paula Lorenz

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H&M Foundation and HKRITA to open textile recycling facilities in Hong Kong

The H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) have announced the opening of two textile recycling facilities which will put HKRITA’s hydrothermal method for recycling cotton and polyester blends to use. Blends are the most used type of textile in the world -- yet, they are still unrecyclable. “This is a...