A new report from Fashion for Good reveals a €1.5 billion opportunity for fibre-to-fibre recycling in the USA. Launched in January 2023, the organisation’s ‘Sorting for Circularity USA’ project aims to provide crucial insights for strategic decision-making to advance circularity in the fashion value chain.
The project has brought together partners such as Adidas, Inditex, Target and Levi Strauss with external partners H&M Group, lululemon, Eastman, Nordstrom, and the New York State Center for Sustainable Materials Management. Key project implementation partners include the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) Association, Goodwill Industries International, various ‘Goodwill’ organisations in the US. In the search for an adequate reverse supply chain and the necessary infrastructure, two critical areas lack data – consumer disposal behaviour and material characteristics of post-consumer textiles. This project focused on these gaps through an extensive national consumer survey and waste composition analysis.
The project report describes growth strategies for the US textile recycling industry, emphasising enhanced financial value through efficiency improvements, increased commodity valuation and policy mechanisms such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. Collaboration among stakeholders – including brands, government, retailers, consumers, collectors, sorters, recyclers and financial institutions – is needed to promote circularity, invest in R&D and press for supportive policies and incentives to stimulate technological innovation.
