Technical, Regulatory, Economic and Environmental Effectiveness of Textile Fibres Recycling
This report aims to improve the knowledge about textile recycling. It highlights the opportunities and challenges of textile waste recycling technologies developed and applied at global and EU level. The report sheds light on the technical feasibility and maturity for market uptake of textile-to-textile recycling technologies – including mechanical and chemical recycling approaches. It also evaluates their economic and environmental effectiveness. In addition, the report identifies promising areas for future research, such as the dispersion and recovery of chemical substances or the development of alternatives to elastane. Finally, the authors, among them Ecologic Institute's Mandy Hinzmann, Dr. Martin Hirschnitz-Garbers, and Anurodh Sachdeva, outline the steps needed to support the industrial uptake of textile recycling technologies and circular business models, including fostering cross-cutting collaboration along the value chain. The report is available for download.