Recycled textile Materials

CHAPTER 3.
RECYCLED TEXTILE PRODUCTS AND MARKETS
Reuse of clothing
Treasured pieces can be preserved for favourite younger relatives, suitable serviceable clothes
gifted to a maid and rags reused in the house opined Norris (2010). Used clothing is made to
work, to produce value for the home. But since the liberalization of India’s economy in the
1990s and the rising consumption of clothing and fashion, what happens to the increasing
surplus of clothing that is “too good for the maid?” questioned Norris. Women wonder what to
do with the growing piles of good–quality clothing rendered un-wearable by the vicissitudes
of daily life, which represent too great an investment to be simply given away to a servant and
are too valuable to waste by leaving them sitting unused in cupboards at home.
Recycling of textiles was a domestic craft in India but currently there are textile clusters and
small-scale industries to work on second hand imported clothing and create a range of product
like recycled yarns, doormats, prayer rugs, blankets and bed linen. The leftover garments are
cut into square pieces to be sold as industrial wipers for the paints, chemicals and construction
industries, for both local and international buyers in Japan and Australia. Waste is used to stuff
pillows and mattresses. Bathroom mats that used recycling cotton yarns, is an INR 2,000 core
industry’s according to Handique.
Re-use and Recycling group of WRAP has focused on diverting textiles from landfill by
improving collection and separation systems and developing markets for re-use and recycling.
Activity includes developing systems and initiatives (including consumer communications) for
improving collection of clothing; separation of clothing for re-use and recycling, where re-use
of clothing is preferred to recycling; and market development for re-use and recycling of
clothing and lower material grades.
WRAP research suggests that extending the life of garments by just nine months could make a
significant difference on the impact of clothes on the environment. The report sets out
opportunities for the clothing sector to reduce the resource impacts of the clothing – and gain
business benefits from doing so. Key findings include:
 the average UK household owns around £4,000 worth of clothes – and around 30% of
clothing in wardrobes has not been worn for at least a year;
 the cost of this unused clothing is around £30 billion;
 extending the average life of clothes by just three months of active use would lead to a 5-
10% reduction in each of the carbon, water and waste footprints; and
 An estimated £100 million worth (based on 2015 prices) or around 350,000 tons of used
clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year.
(http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/valuing-our-clothes)
Trails were conducted on testing the viability of washing and drying contaminated textiles by
WRAP. The investigation washed and dried various levels of contamination and damp textiles;
this was followed by an economic assessment of each process, which resulted in positive

outcomes, subject to some key conditions. This trial evidence suggests that if enough textiles
can be secured at low or no cost, then the installation of washing and drying facilities would
be economically viable.
(http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/testing-viability-washing-and-drying-contaminated-textile-
trials)
Hiller Connell (2012) found that the most consistent eco-conscious apparel acquisition
behaviour was limiting the amount of apparel acquired. The two primary strategies were
acquiring apparel on a need basis and extending the initial lifetime of apparel items as long as
possible, to reduce the need to acquire replacement garments. Extending the lifetime of apparel
was by taking good care of clothes, wearing clothes until they are no longer useable, and
repairing and refashioning clothes. A second eco-conscious behaviour acquiring apparel
specifically because the garments exhibit certain ecologically preferable attributes like organic
or more sustainable fibers or the apparel had other environmentally preferable attributes such
as being high quality, classically styled, or made in the United States. The sources most
commonly referenced by the participants included second hand sources, eco-conscious
companies (companies that have a reputation for selling environmentally preferable apparel,
conducting business in an environmentally responsible manner, and supporting environment
protection), independent companies, and home sewing.
The most practical ways for apparel consumers to be eco-conscious was by the consumption
of apparel through second hand sources, did not require increased financial resources and were
readily available. Based on the behaviours emerging from this study, additional
environmentally conscious apparel acquisition behaviour that consumer education programs
could be focused on educating consumers how to identify quality or classically styled apparel
products and teaching ways to refashion and update garments that are already owned by
consumers.
Nakano’s (2007) survey studies on perceptions towards clothes with recycled content show
that there is a contradiction between the public reaction towards products with recycled content
and their awareness towards environmental issues.
Forms of Recycling
According to a website, workers sort and separate collected textiles into good quality clothing
and shoes which can be reused or worn. There is a trend of moving these facilities from
developed countries to developing countries either for charity or sold at a cheaper price. Many
international organizations collect used textiles from developed countries as a donation to those
third world countries. This recycling practice is encouraged because it helps to reduce
unwanted waste while providing clothing to those in need. Damaged textiles are further sorted
into grades to make industrial wiping cloths and for use in paper manufacture or material
suitable for fiber reclamation and filling products. If textile re-processors receive wet or soiled
clothes however, these may still be disposed of in a landfill, as the washing and drying facilities
are not present at sorting units. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling)

As reported in the Indian textile Journal (2009), recycling in the textile and clothing sector can
take several forms. The best known method involves the manufacture of a textile or clothing
product from recycled consumer waste—such as plastic bottles or waste polyester yarns or
fabrics. Other forms involve the reuse of waste textile and clothing products in a way which
avoids throwing the items away, such as: shredding the products into fibres for sound
insulation; redistributing the items in the form of second-hand clothing via charity shops or
textile merchants (also known as rag collectors); and reusing fabrics for “eco-fashion”.
Technology for recycling
Watzl in Horrock (1996) said that a recycling technology was uneconomic for reprocessing of
the waste. More energy and raw materials would be required than for making the same quantity
of new products. Naturally the technology itself must not affect the environment more
adversely than waste disposal. Gulich (2010) supported the idea and suggested that for the
consumption of energy, breaking down fibres is preferable to other forms of physical and
chemical recycling (re-granulation, fibre production). For this reason producers should design
textiles to allow easy recycling. Finally according to Watzl in Horrock (1996) a market must
exist or new markets must be opened up for the products made of waste fibres, When dealing
with these problems, however, the situation of limited raw materials supplies must always be
borne in mind.
Samanta, Basak and Chattopadhaya et al (2015), the recycling situation is somewhat complex
and challenging for the textile and clothing, as different fibre with various intrinsic physico-
chemical-mechanical properties are intimately mixed with each other during carding, drawing
or spinning. In many practical circumstances, processing of waste by mechanically, chemically
and/or biologically to recycle waste into products, required certain amount of energy,
additional raw materials, and emission of again waste into the air, water and soil. Life cycle
analysis (LCA) tool was hence introduced in some of the product to evaluate their actual
relative benefits of during disposal and/or recycling process.
Handique M (2010) also reported that Panipat has become the home for the world’s largest
shoddy wool industry. There are more than 300 mills which import mutilated woollens and
Acyclic knitted clothing to recycle it into regenerated yarn, and then weave it into blankets.
These low quality blankets were sold across India. Dharam Pal Woollen Industries, the
company the Jindals own, makes 10,000 kg of yarn a day from 20 tonnes of used clothes that
lie in an open tin shed, ready to go into the shredder for extracting flossy fibre. This raw
material was then used to produce yarn for making blankets, school blazer fabric and red-and-
black checkered drapes popular among the Masai population of Tanzania and Kenya.
Bairagi (2014) stated that textiles in India are recycled both for the domestic and the global
market. In the domestic market recycled textile products are generally found in the form of
floor mats, wipes and rugs. The fibres extracted during recycling of clothing are converted into
recycled yarns and it is used in different textile products and also as fillers. The pre-consumer
cotton wastes are a source of raw material for the paper industry. Recycled silk yarns are
converted to a number of small products and accessories. The recycling of woolen and acrylic

products in Panipat is the biggest textile recycling industrial cluster in India. Sorting and
grading of textile wastes for the industrial sector also happens in Kandla Special Economic
Zone, Gujarat. Apart from this old textiles are upcycled into a number of innovative products
using traditional Indian embroidery in the craft clusters and households, or passed down to the
under privileged in a developing country.
Sinha et al (2009) reported that ‘rag’ sort was a quick sort between reuse (curtains, nets,
pillowcases, handkerchiefs, etc.) and recycling. They are sorted into particular categories and
those unsuitable for either are land filled. Certain waste ceases to be waste – if become the raw
materials for further development to bring economic or environmental benefits and thus end of
waste specifications and criteria have to be developed.
Dissanyake & Sinha (2009) were of the opinion that if fashion retailers take the responsibility
of taking used garments back from the consumer and passing them to a waste collection or
remanufacturing company; it was likely that the waste collectors would receive a significant
volume of a particular style and/or a brand. This type of a reverse flow enables remanufacturing
firms to obtain volumes of similar categories of clothing, directly from the fashion retailers or
from waste collection companies. Some take-back systems already existed; for instance, the
fashion retailer Marks and Spencer had teamed up with Oxfam, a globally renowned aid and
development charity, to promote consumers to recycle unwanted clothes. The SOEX group, a
global of textile collectors had developed a system called I: CO; a network of retail
organizations with collection boxes for discarded clothing which were returned to retailers and
those boxes are sent to SOEX for sorting and processing.
Oakdene Hollins report (DEFRA 2006) as cited in Sinha et al 2009, refers to the textile
recycling industry as ‘secondary textile industry’ and from the literature reviewed, the first
diagrammatic representation of the flow of materials through the secondary textile industry
was provided. This included noting, sorting and distributing used textiles into as many as 140
different grades, with four main categories. One of them was reuse and resell: either transported
to markets (often to the African continent but also to Europe and Asia), often referred to as the
second hand markets, or resold in the UK through retail shops (considered the ‘cream’ of used
textiles), referred to as vintage. The clothing was also sometimes reused and redesigned into
new items of clothing. The traditional ‘open’ system consisted of a primary supply chain with
forward flow from raw materials, through manufacture to final EOL (end of life) disposal of
the post-consumer product.
Remanufacturing
Remanufacturing is a closed loop system and has been defined as “the process of
disassembling, cleaning, inspecting, repairing and reassembling the components of a part or
product in order to return it to ‘as-new’ condition; sometimes termed ‘upward remanufacturing’
to include the end use of the remanufactured product or component: (Nasr and Thurston 2006)
Kumar and Malegeant (2006) as cited in Sinha et all (2009) note that a major problem with
remanufacturing is the uncertainty in timing, quality and quantity of returns, balancing returns
with demand, disassembly, reverse logistics, materials matching requirements, routing
uncertainty, and processing time uncertainty. The first step in remanufacturing is the process

or method by which a company collects used products. Known as ‘reverse logistics’ (Seitz and
Wells, 2006), the product ‘take back’ process can potentially account for a significant part of
the total costs of any closed loop supply chain (Kumar and Maleagean, 2006).
It would be cost-effective and environmentally friendly for remanufacturing firms to utilize
established reverse flow capacities rather than investing in building up new reverse logistic
channels. The benefits for the textile waste collection and sorting companies would be: the
development of a local market for SHC and less dependence on overseas markets; increasing
their visibility by becoming part of the remanufacturing sector; and the local market
development may lead to higher profit and may facilitate developing innovations/ technologies
to increase the efficiency and productivity in the sector.
According to Sinha et al (2009), a network of companies such as Aeon and Uniqio in Japan
and Patagonia in the USA make use of this technology. Patagonia takes back clothing in stores
(customers may drop them off or mail them back) and transports back to Japan and Teijin as
part of their Common Threads Garment Recycling Program (Patagonia 2009). Patagonia has a
range of products that is in this eco-circle, not every product that they sell is in this range. The
Japanese clothing retailer AEON also set up a take back system for clothing that bears the
EcoMate label certified by the Japan Apparel Industry Council.
The Re-use and Recycling group of WRAP led Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) was
focused on diverting textiles from landfill by improving collection and separation systems, and
developing markets for re-use and recycling. Activity included developing systems and
initiatives (including consumer communications) for improving collection of clothing;
separation of clothing for re-use and recycling, where re-use of clothing is preferred to
recycling; and market development for re-use and recycling of clothing and lower material
grades. (http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/sustainable-clothing-action-plan-1)
On world recycle week starting April 18, 2016. ‘Give us your old, your broken, your worn-out
and your out-of-style clothes.’ That is the message H&M was sending out when seeking to
collect 1,000 tonnes of old clothing from customers across its 3,600 stores worldwide. In the
company's biggest sustainability campaign since 1999, H&M'S Head of Sustainability, Anna
Gedda, “World Recycle Week is about changing people's behaviour when it comes to
caring for their clothes.”
(https://www.hm.com/in/life/culture/h-m-inside/2016/04/this-is-world-recycle-week)
Remodelling and Restyling
Ruppert-Stroescu et al (2015) opined that “because promoting sustainable fashion apparel
consumption was a pressing contemporary problem, Generation Y participants in the
Midwestern United States were challenged to a Fashion Detox, where they refrained from
acquiring fashion apparel for ten weeks and blogged about the experience. Content analysis of
blog entries for this exploratory study revealed expressions of creativity that were examined
through the lens of the propulsion model of kinds of creative contributions. Findings revealed
kinds of creative contributions stimulated by voluntary simplicity that satisfy the fashion
apparel consumer’s need for novelty and change: expressions of creativity that follow a

fashion-driven direction already established, called redefinition and forward incrimination, and
those that took a completely different path but within the context of seeking novelty and
change, or redirection. Examples of creative activities were re-designing old clothes, shifting
their focus to home décor instead of apparel, and turning away from fashion apparel altogether.
Forty-six percent of the participants left the 10-week activity feeling that their creativity had
been enhanced and 54% expressed the intention to carry on the sustainable consumption
lessons they learned. By cultivating expressions of creativity that lead to sustainable
consumption through education and innovative business models, stakeholders may initiate a
paradigm shift that fulfils the fashion apparel consumer’s need for novelty and change without
sacrificing the planet’s resources.”
Thompson (2012) opined that it was a common misconception that in order to make clothes, it
was important to be skilled at sewing. Some of the ideas presented were unique and creative.
For example, “one of the most efficient ways to make use of scrap fabric is to build it together
into a greater whole through patchwork. It can then be used as a regular length of fabric to
make clothes, bags and other accessories. Many designers of reclaimed clothing use this
technique, often making their creative mark through distinctive patching forms as well as
through the cut and style of their final garments, which rely on the lay of the patchwork for
their shape as well as their intrigue. Another example was of using trims. “The most traditional
way to revamp an old garment was by customizing it along the edges with the addition of
fringes, ribbons, buttons or brocade. Beading, embroidery, patches and studs are brilliant
options when resuscitating old items- and can be particularly useful as a means of covering up
stains, tears or moth holes in prominent places. Inspiration and ideas could be found by
investigating different cultures and traditions from around the world.
Dissanyake & Sinha (2009) defined remanufactured fashion as “fashion clothing that is
constructed by using reclaimed fabrics, which can either be post-industrial or post-consumer
waste, or a combination of both. Post-industrial waste consists of waste materials generated in
the textile or apparel manufacturing processes, and post-consumer waste refers to the discarded
garments by end-consumers.” They also stated that remanufacturing firms had little or no
control over the reverse supply chain and firms are largely depending upon unpredictable
sources such as consumer donations to collect SHC. Management of the whole reverse logistics
network is impeded by the cost implications, resulting in (i) high variability of quality and
quantity of incoming materials and finished products; (ii) increased operational costs due to
additional space and labour requirements to sort and grade of incoming materials and (iii)
unpredictably variable processing times that complicate production planning. To minimize
these issues, it is vital for remanufacturers to build collaborative networks with established
textile waste collection authorities or to develop product return systems. The growth of reverse
logistics channels in the remanufacturing business could be facilitated by retailer involvement
in collecting waste.”
The study provided useful models for understanding the reverse logistics and product
development processes for fashion remanufacturing. Remanufacturing firms were
independently producing small volumes, but by networking with textile waste collectors and
fashion retailers, they may be capable of raising production volume and bringing costs down.

Collaborative relationships among sustainable designers, fashion retailers and commercial
waste collectors may results in synergies and drive innovations. It is also necessary to develop
new technologies to make sorting, grading and disassembly operations standardized. The
possibilities of adopting existing technologies and quality control systems in the conventional
fashion remanufacturing process should be investigated. It would also be interesting to research
whether the mass customization of remanufactured fashion would be a feasible means of
offering individually tailored products on a large scale. This would be a new business
opportunity for remanufacturers and retailers while providing exciting choice for eco-minded
consumers.”
Production of recycled yarn from used garments
Watzl (1996) noted that the growing importance of used raw materials with respect to
ecological acceptability and need for non-polluting processing technologies themselves
together with the demand for a high degree of recyclability of the products, is reflected in the
current development of appropriate machines. The recycling process, as well as processing of
recovered chips for the fibre production, concerns both waste accumulation during production
in addition to the textile woven and non-woven products themselves which are returned to the
production cycle as secondary raw materials.
According to Gulich (2006) both quality and process ability depend on the kind of waste. And
rarely found of homogeneous fibre type. Most important categories of textile apparel wastes
are 100% cotton, 100% wool, 100% polyester and blends of cotton and wool with polyester.
Furthermore, there will be a large category of less common fibres and fibre mixtures. This latter
can be mechanically recycled into low value end-uses.
Gulich (2006) observed that as with the processing of reclaimed fibres into yarns, non-woven
require proportions of broken down fibres to be as high as possible. Their lengths should be
sufficient to undergo the spinning or web formation process in question. Pieces of yarn or
thread still contained in the blend of reclaimed fibres directly contribute to matrix formation in
the non-woven or they are further broken down into fibres during the carding process. Yarn
manufacture is carried out in two stages- spinning preparation and spinning. Different spinning
lines can be used and in the area of spinning preparation various machine constellations are
available for opening, cleaning and blending the most diverse fibre materials, and these
configurations are able to fulfil the processing requirements for secondary raw materials. The
three main benefits are to increase the use of sustainable raw materials, reduce the need of
colouration of the yarns, energy consumption in manufacturing and reduce the impact of waste
and chemicals on the environment. According to Gulich (2006) both producers and users do
not face any limits with respect to reclaiming high-value reclaimed fibre materials. For
producers it does not matter whether reclaimed fibres are used to recycle waste or to lower
costs or to market products with improved characteristics.
According to Groot and Luiken (1998) in order to implement textile recycling on an industrial
scale, the waste requires sorting according to demands put forward by the specific end-markets
or end-users (e.g. colour, chemical composition). Due to, in general, the poor quality of

recycled fibres, only the low quality markets can be served, resulting in marginal business
profits. Recycled fibres are inherently of lower quality than virgin fibres. The only way to add
value to products made from recycled fibres and raise their image is to improve the
performance qualities and the design of end-products. They suggested that this may be done
effectively by involving designers throughout the whole recycling and product development
process. Working concurrently with all parties involved in the recycling process will create
space to cross-link technology, science, manufacturing business and marketing. This is where
ideas for new applications and designs will grow. Good design will create new markets with
products that close the loop of the recycling supply chain, inevitably creating demand for
recycled fibre products.
The Indian Textile Journal, 2009 reported that in India, materials are usually reused because of
economic necessity and practical utility, and doing so involves scavengers and makers in work
that is polluting because it entails contact with refuse. This pollution affects the status of both
the recyclers and their products.
Wang (2006) stated that recycling of garments can be done by reuse for second-hand markets
or by conversion to new products. Recovery from the waste stream includes re-use of a product
in its original form; the largest volume of goods is sorted for second hand clothing markets.
Two categories of conversion to new products are used by the breakdown of fabric to fiber:
shoddy (from knits) and mungo (from woven garments) are terms for the breakdown of fabric
to fiber through cutting, shredding, carding and other mechanical processes. The fiber is then
re-engineered into value-added products. These value-added products include stuffing,
automotive components and carpet underlay’s building materials such as insulation and roofing
felt and low-end blankets.
The other category for conversion to new products is the actual re-design of used clothing.
Current fashion trends are reflected by a team of young designers who use and customize
second-hand clothes for a chain of specialty vintage clothing stores. Clothing that has seen the
end of its useful life as such may be turned into wiping or polishing cloths for industrial use.
T-shirts are a primary source for this category because the cotton fiber makes an absorbent rag
and polishing cloth.
Need for recycled raw materials in product development.
According to Sakhtivel et.al. (2012), there are many compelling reasons for the recycling of
waste from textile products and processes. They include conservation of resources, reduction
of the need for landfills and paying the associated tipping fees, and provision of low-cost raw
materials for products. Yet, in reality, the rate of recycling in textiles was not very high. The
reasons were attributed to insufficient public willingness to participate in recycling, economics
was often the reason behind the adoption of other modes of waste disposal. Although legislation
could easily tip the balance in favour of recycling, such a forced move could have just the
opposite effect in terms of environmental protection.

Recycling has been and is the subject of much research in order to make the car lighter. Choice
of materials are now influenced by ‘cradle to grave’ (life cycle) analyses of various options and
communization of materials according to Fung (2000).
Gulich (2010) asserted positively that the development of novel products partly or totally made
of reclaimed fibres will stay of great interest. What raised the call for recycled raw materials
was the lack in good-value primary raw materials or their high price. In the long run, both
quantities and prices of primary raw materials will shadow those of crude oil. Consequently
textile recycling will become ever more important. Bearing in mind that the fossil raw materials
to make synthetic fibres is limited, it can be forecasted that reclaimed fibres and fibres recycled
to other processes will rise in importance. All these tendencies will inspire engineers to
innovate economical recycling processes which, no doubt, will include the field of textiles.
Slater (2000) supported the opinion that the future for technical textile production, and
especially for the use of technical textiles, appeared to be assured, but the need for presentation
of the fragile environment may well become a major cause of concern that tempers the
possibility of unfettered expansion in response to the ever-rising demand. Among the various
approaches, Slater mentioned some of the challenge of using ‘waste’ textiles in unexpected
ways. Suggestions included adopting wool batts in facades of buildings for durable heat and
sound insulation, serving also as pollution binding elements. Textile waste has also used in
concrete aggregate, where polyamide warp-knit waste fabric gave excellent strength and was
used to provide elasticity in on-site cast concrete, as in road building.
According to the Baseline Survey on Technical Textiles in India 2009, Technical textiles holds
significant potential in India and the government has already taken a few steps to promote this
Industry.
Samanta et al (2015) opined that the reuse and recycling of the donated clothing results in a
reduction in the environmental burden compared to purchasing new clothing made from virgin
materials. The disposal of fabric materials also poses a serious problem in waste management.
They further stated that it should also be noted that although a given recycling technique may
not offer significant environmental benefits at present, the situation may change as further
research and development proceeds towards development of better and cleaner technologies at
lower cost with high efficiency.
Categories of home-scale products from of clothing for reuse
 Rugs and door mats.
 Pouches and bags used for different purposes like laundry bag, sling bags, milk drop
bags, shopping bag, vegetable bag, travel bag and tote bags made from old jeans and
clothes.
 Covers for television, microwave, toaster, tea cozy, table cloth, table mats, cover for
side table, cover for center table, coasters, doillies, cover for storing silver cutlery, as a
substitute for gloves in handling hot dishes from the oven, etc.

 Soft furnishing including, bed covers, ‘chaddar’, cushion covers, and bolster covers,
quilts called sujni, comforters, duvet cover. Partly torn clothes were cut and stitched
into quilts.
 Expensive clothes, saris or sari borders were stitched into decorative cushion covers,
quilts, wrapping for the holy books and carry bags.
 Miscellaneous articles like photo frame, display board for family photographs, hand
puppets, rag dolls, shaped cushions, mobile pouch and stuffing soft toys.
 Small sized quilted mats used for sitting on the floor to offer prayers, eat, practice yoga,
squat for meditation, floor mats, bath mats centre table covers, covers for toaster and
such gadgets.
Recycling by re-modelling clothes.
Re-modelling clothes helps extend their wardrobes. This was possible by using dupattas and
mix matching with other salwar kameez. Wearing different blouses each time with the same
saree, using different coloured leggings with the same kurti, wearing different tops mix
matched with differently coloured pair of jeans (Mundkur, Dedhia 2012).
Categories of commercial recycled products in the market

What are specific textiles recycled into?
Here are a few examples:
Stuffed toys and pillows become car seat stuffing and automobile insulation.
T-shirts, sheets, towels, and clothing become wiping cloths.
Denim becomes home insulation.
Shoe soles become paving material.
Sweaters and coats become carpet padding.
Curtains and drapes become stuffing for pillows, sleeping bags, and animal beds.
Wool sweaters and materials become baseball and softball filling.
Velvet materials become jewelry box lining.
Leftover fabric scraps become paper money.
https://www.smartasn.org/SMARTASN/assets/File/resources/Textile_Recycling_Fact_Sheet.
pdf
The basics
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average person throws away 81
pounds of clothing per year. That adds up to 3.8 billion pounds of unnecessary waste added to
our landfills.Clothing and household textiles currently make up 5.2% of the waste in landfills.
A textile is any item made from cloth or an artificial fabric like vinyl. Textiles are used for
clothing, linens, bedding, upholstery, curtains, carpets, and other items. Any textile item, even
if it’s worn, torn, or stained, can be recycled. You can even recycle a single shoe! Items simply
need to be clean and dry. Recycling clothing and textiles decreases the use of natural resources,
such as water used in growing crops and petroleum used in creating new clothing and textiles.
It also decreases the need for chemicals used in manufacturing new textiles and the pollution
caused by the manufacturing process.
Howare recycled textiles used?
Resold at charities’ secondhand clothing stores
Sent to developing countries
Turned into wiping cloths, which are used in a variety of industries and businesses (everything from
manufacturers to repair shops, construction industries, stores,and maintenance and custodial
departments)
Processed back into fibers and turned into paper, yarn, insulation, carpet padding, and other items
Where can clothing and textiles
be recycled?
If your town doesn’t accept textiles with other recyclables, donate your items to a local recycling
center or charity. Nearly 100% ofdonated items are recycled. The recycling center or charity will
determine which items are usable as clothing, which can be sold and turned into wiping rags,and
which can be sold and processed back into fibers to make new products. Charities and recyclers
generate revenue for their programs, and textiles get a second (or third or fourth) life. T

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