Textile recycling

Textile recycling recovers and processes discarded or unwanted fabrics and other textile products into reusable fibers, materials, or products.

Textile waste sorting: The classification of discarded textiles by material, color, condition, and suitability for reuse or recycling. Accurate sorting helps match each textile to a viable recycling route.
Shoddy (textile industry): Reclaimed wool fiber produced by mechanically pulling apart wool textiles and yarns. It is a long-established example of textile waste becoming usable fiber.
Textile reuse: The continued use of clothing or other textiles without breaking them down into raw material. Reuse often preserves more of a textile's value than recycling it into fiber.
Extended producer responsibility: A policy approach that makes producers responsible for products and packaging across their life cycle, including after use. It can require textile producers to help fund collection and end-of-life management.
Mechanical recycling: A process that physically opens or shreds materials into fibers without dissolving their polymers. It turns many textiles into fibers, though processing can shorten them.
Reclaimed fiber: Fiber recovered from existing textile materials for use in new products. It is the principal material output of many textile recycling processes.
Textile waste: Textile products and production materials discarded, unwanted, or no longer useful to their owners. Recycling is one possible destination within the broader textile-waste system.
Circular economy: An economic system designed to keep products and materials in use and reduce waste. Textile recycling is one strategy for retaining material value in a circular economy.
Chemical recycling: Processes that use chemical reactions or solvents to separate, purify, or transform material components. It can recover polymer or cellulose feedstock from some blended or contaminated textiles.
Recycled polyester: Polyester made from recovered polyester materials, including bottles or discarded textiles. It shows how synthetic textile waste can return as textile feedstock.

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