Of the 7 to 7.5 million tons of textile waste produced in the EU and Switzerland, about one-third is collected. Of this, 60% is sorted for resale and 40% is available for recycling. Currently, only 1% of non-reusable textiles are recycled into new textiles. (Source: McKinsey Apparel, Fashion & Luxury Group (2022): Scaling textile recycling in Europe - turning waste into value)
Textiles are becoming an increasingly big polluter. To tackle the growing mountains of used clothing, it is above all European politicians who are developing a comprehensive strategy for a regulating circular economy. And the textiles industry is also making its mark with innovative technologies for recycling manmade fibers. However, there is still a long way to go before we have a sustainable textile world.
Read more about new developments in the field of the circular economy and concrete solutions to get things moving in issue 39 of our customer magazine Fibers & Filaments.
