Textile waste: Not reusing textile waste causes a loss of $150 billion annually.

In 2023, global textile fiber production reached its highest level ever, reaching 124 million tons, a 7% increase over the previous year and more than double the figure recorded in 2000. These figures are reported in the latest edition of the " Materials Market Report" by the NGO Textile Exchange, which is committed to the circular and most sustainable transition possible in the global textile industry. The report reports that, at this current rate, production will reach 160 million tons by 2030. Most of these fibers, 57%, are synthetic and derived from virgin fossil sources, primarily polyester (cotton accounts for 29% of the total). Although this category has also been the fastest growing in recent years, the share of recycled fibers is still very low, reaching 12.5% ​​of the total, down from 13.6% in 2022.

Yet, reusing textile waste has long been identified as a surefire way to achieve the desired, greater, and true sustainability for the textile and fashion industry. Another report, this one from Boston Consulting Group, highlights the benefits that would result from more effective textile waste recycling. According to the study, "Spinning Textile Waste into Value," approximately 80% of discarded garments still end up in landfills or are incinerated, while less than 1% is actually recycled into new fibers. This represents a huge loss, not only environmental but also economic: raw materials worth an estimated $150 billion are lost every year.

Yet, according to estimates, increasing recycling rates above 30% would create over $50 billion in new value and approximately 180,000 jobs. By 2030, demand for recycled textiles will exceed supply by 30-40 million tons.

"The study highlights a sobering fact: today, only 7% of global textile waste is available as a raw material for textile-to-textile recycling; the rest is lost in landfills and incinerators. This problem calls for the need to develop new large-scale industrial and technological solutions," says Beatrice Lemucchi, Managing Director and Partner at BCG. "The time is now more than ever: in Europe, regulatory pressure is accelerating with the introduction of extended producer responsibility, which will require brands to finance collection and recycling in the markets in which they operate. It's not just about complying with more stringent rules, but about seizing a strategic opportunity to strengthen competitiveness and transform waste into a resource."

Burning just one ton of textiles is equivalent, in terms of emissions, to six return flights between London and New York; disposing of it in a landfill is equivalent to eight. Moreover, even if these are authorized landfills, since expanses of textile waste dumped illegally, causing serious harm to the environment and people, are multiplying from the Atacama Desert in Chile to Ghana and Kenya, but also in Europe, where the Jiului Valley in Romania, once a center of mining production, is filling up with waste from other countries, primarily Germany, as a Greenpeace investigation has revealed.