The textile industry’s traditional linear development model has reached a critical turning point for both the ecological environment and the economy, while a new textile economy grounded in circular principles is rapidly emerging. The Textile-to-Textile (T2T) recycling model has become a key driver of systemic transformation and is reshaping the industry ecosystem.
Image source: Internet
This article outlines the current global generation of textile waste and analyzes the development landscape of T2T from the perspectives of policy regulation, government support, and market demand in China, Europe, the United States, South Korea, and other regions. It also highlights the recycled material targets and practices of brands such as Nike and H&M, aiming to provide a comprehensive outlook on the future of T2T development.
01 Linear challenges of the textile industry and the logic behind T2T
As one of the backbone industries of the global economy, the textile sector carries a significant environmental footprint, contributing approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions¹. At the same time, the industry is facing a severe waste challenge, generating more than 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually—equivalent to a truckload of discarded clothing being landfilled or incinerated every second². Currently, only 1% of discarded clothing worldwide is recycled into new garments³, while the vast majority ends up in landfill, incineration, or low-value downcycling.
The traditional linear model “resource extraction → production → use → disposal” exacerbates overcapacity and resource scarcity, while imposing heavy environmental burdens. Since carbon emissions span the entire textile value chain, the circular economy has become an inevitable pathway for high-quality development, with T2T emerging as a core force driving the industry’s green transition.
Image source: A New Textile Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future
Against this backdrop, Textile-to-Textile (T2T) recycling has become fundamental to systemic transformation in the textile industry.
T2T converts waste textiles into recycled fibers via physical or chemical technologies for reuse in textile production. Unlike downcycling, T2T creates higher-value recycling pathways and represents a crucial direction for sustainable textile development. This model not only absorbs excess capacity and reshapes production cycles but also reduces resource consumption and pollutant emissions at the source.
According to the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), each kilogram of waste textiles properly recycled can reduce 3.6 kg CO₂-eq emissions and save 6,000 liters of water. With advancements in recycling technologies and scaling-up applications, the global T2T recycling rate for fibers is expected to reach 26% by 2030⁴, showcasing tremendous growth potential.
02 Global textile circularity policies: institutional drivers for T2T development
Countries and regions worldwide have introduced policies governing textile recycling and reuse, setting clear targets for textile recycling rates and recycled fiber production. These serve as a policy foundation for T2T, complemented by supporting standards that are accelerating the sector’s transition toward environmental and economic co-benefits.
🇨🇳 China
As the world’s largest textile and apparel producer and consumer, China generated around 23.3 million tonnes of textile waste in 2023, with approximately 5.53 million tonnes being utilized—reducing carbon emissions by about 19.91 million tonnes⁵.
In April 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles (Fagai Huanzi [2022] No. 526), which specifies that:
By 2025: Preliminarily establish a waste textile circular utilization system, with the recycling rate reaching 25% and recycled fiber output reaching 2 million tons.
By 2030: Establish a relatively complete waste textile circular utilization system, continuously expand high-value utilization pathways, significantly improve industrial development, achieve a recycling rate of 30%, and produce 3 million tons of recycled fiber.
Improve the waste textile collection network and encourage brands to increase their use of recycled fibers.
National standards such as the Technical Specifications for Waste Textile Recycling and Technical Specifications for Waste Textile Regeneration have been released, while carbon-related group standards—e.g., Requirements for Carbon Accounting and Reporting of Waste Textile Recycling Enterprises—continue to grow.
🇪🇺 European Union
Textile consumption ranks fourth in the EU in terms of environmental and climate impact—after food, housing, and mobility. EU citizens discard about 5 million tonnes of clothing annually, or roughly 12 kg per person⁶. Guided by the European Green Deal, the EU has issued multiple textile-related regulations to empower consumers and impose stricter requirements on producers and sellers.
Key policy instruments include:
Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP): Non-sustainable textiles will not be allowed on the EU market; environmental information such as carbon footprint must be disclosed.
EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles: By 2030, textile products on the EU market must be durable, repairable, recyclable, and largely made from recycled fibers. Digital Product Passports (DPPs) with sustainability information—including carbon footprint—will be required.
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR): Products must meet ecodesign requirements to enter the EU market, with the goal of reducing lifecycle carbon and environmental footprints.
Waste Framework Directive: Requires Member States to establish textile separate collection systems by January 1, 2025, and promotes Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes to provide stable financial support for textile recycling and T2T.
Textile Labelling Regulation: Mandates necessary labeling for textile products, with revisions expected in Q3 2025 emphasizing environmental information.
Some EU member states have already set specific targets for reuse and recycling, with the Netherlands and France being the most prominent examples:
🇳🇱 Netherlands Textile EPR Targets
By 2025:
By 2025 you must prepare 50% of the previous year’s total weight sold for reuse or recycling. This number will increase by 5% each year until 2030 (75%).
By 2025 you must reuse at least 20% of the textile products you collect. This number will increase by 1% each year until 2030 (25%).
By 2025 you must reuse at least 10% of the textile products you collect for products you will sell in the Netherlands. This number will increase by 1% each year until 2030 (15%).
By 2025 you must reuse 25% of all textile fibres from discarded textile products in materials for new products (fibre-to-fibre recycling). By 2030 this must be 33% of all textile fibres.
🇫🇷 France Textile EPR Targets
As the first country to implement a textile EPR system, France uses regulations like the Environmental Code and the Anti-Waste Law to set recycling targets, regeneration standards, and full-chain responsibilities. The system is currently managed by the sole textile Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO), Refashion. The new government approval document for 2023-2028 sets specific goals⁷:
Collection rate of used textiles, clothing, and footwear (TCF): 60% in 2028.
Reuse/repurposing rate within 1,500 km of the collection point: 15% in 2027.
Recycling rate of used textiles not reused: 70% in 2024, 80% in 2027.
🇺🇸 United States
According to the sustainability consultancy Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), textile waste is growing faster than any other major waste stream. Some states have introduced legislative measures for textile circularity. For example, California enacted the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, becoming the first state in the United States to implement a dedicated EPR law for clothing and textiles. Under this law, producers are required to join a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) and take responsibility for the collection, sorting, and recycling of post-consumer textiles
🇰🇷 South Korea
South Korea’s Enforcement Decree of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act provides tax credits to designated businesses handling “recycled waste resources”, explicitly including waste fibers alongside scrap metal, waste tires, and waste oil.
Furthermore, the country has designated “chemical and biological recycling technologies for waste fibers” as a New Growth and Source Technology. R&D investment in these areas qualifies for significantly higher tax credits—30–40% for SMEs and 20–30% for medium and large enterprises—substantially incentivizing T2T development.
Together, these national and regional policies converge toward the T2T model: establishing high-value recycling systems built on high collection and recycling rates, supported by regulatory mandates and incentives, and accelerating investment across the value chain to remove barriers to T2T scaling.
03 Actions from supply chain leaders: market forces driving T2T
With the rise of green consumption awareness, the low-carbon circularity and sustainable development of the entire textile and apparel industry are gaining significant market momentum. Leading brands like Nike, Inditex, and H&M are setting ambitious targets for recycled material use, pushing upstream suppliers to accelerate T2T technology iteration and capacity layout. This creates a synergistic effort across the entire chain—collection, recycling, and application—turning the "waste-to-new-material" closed-loop model from a policy goal into industrial reality.
The unique advantage of the T2T model also lies in its climate-friendly nature. By creating a closed loop from textile to textile, it reduces the carbon emissions associated with producing virgin fibers at the source. On one hand, when leading brands procure T2T materials, they can reduce their Scope 3, Category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services) carbon emissions, thereby improving their climate and ESG performance. On the other hand, increasing the proportion of recycled textile fibers/fabrics helps products comply with and successfully enter markets with high recycling requirements (such as the European market).
Nike: Move to Zero
Carbon emissions from materials and manufacturing energy account for about 70% of Nike's total carbon footprint. Therefore, Nike has targeted this area as a key breakthrough for reducing its environmental impact, using and scaling up Environmentally Preferred Materials (EPMs).
Nike not only set a 2050 net-zero target but has already achieved its 2025 goal: reducing 500,000 tons of carbon emissions by using at least 50% EPMs across all key materials (polyester, cotton, leather, and rubber). Increasing the use of recycled polyester in footwear and optimizing low-carbon leather materials were key to this progress. Nike's FY23 Impact Report shows an 11% increase in recycled polyester use in its footwear and apparel compared to FY22. Its subsidiary, Converse, is also expanding its use of recycled polyester, replacing virgin polyester wherever possible in its footwear, resulting in a 91% increase in recycled polyester use year-over-year.
Recently, Nike signed multi-year offtake agreements with textile recycling companies Syre and Loop Industries. This collaboration will help Syre finance its first commercial-scale recycling plant in Vietnam, which aims to achieve a capacity of over 3 million tons by 2032.
Inditex: low environmental impact materials
Inditex plans to exclusively use "low environmental impact" textile materials by 2030. Of this, about 40% will come from conventional recycling processes (including T2T), 25% from next-generation materials not yet industrialized (including T2T), and 25% from organic and regenerative agriculture.
Inditex has increased its procurement and investment in T2T raw materials in recent years. In 2022, it made an equity investment in the startup CIRC (whose core technology converts the most common poly-cotton blends into new recycled raw materials). Based on this partnership, Zara launched its first collection made from recycled poly-cotton blend materials in collaboration with CIRC in 2023.
Image source: Inditex website
Inditex also reached an agreement with Infinited Fiber, committing to purchase 30% of its future production volume over three years. Infinna™ is a recycled fiber made by the company from 100% textile waste. This purchase commitment, valued at over €100 million, has been crucial for Infinited Fiber to build its first industrial-scale factory and scale up its recycling technology.
H&M: Sustainable Sourcing
The H&M Group has set a goal for 100% of its materials to come from recycled or sustainable sources by 2030, with a target of 50% for recycled materials.
H&M is one of the most active leading brands in the recycled textile space. In 2024, it signed a seven-year offtake agreement with Syre valued at $600 million for recycled polyester. In 2025, it signed a multi-year strategic procurement agreement with innovative materials company Circulose, committing to the large-scale purchase of its CIRCULOSE® material, made from 100% recycled textile waste, to gradually replace virgin viscose fiber used across its brands.
In addition to footwear and apparel brands like Nike and Inditex, luxury brands are also stepping up their involvement in the circular economy. For example, Chanel launched the B2B recycled materials platform Nevold this year, aiming to promote the large-scale industrialization of circular materials and address raw material scarcity in luxury fashion.
Long-term purchase commitments from brands have become a key factor for T2T companies to secure financing and further development. This helps these companies launch commercial-scale mass production projects, thereby strengthening supply chain resilience.
As market awareness and applications for recycled textile materials continue to grow, T2T will become a key area of the new textile economy based on the circular economy. On one hand, policy support and regulation for waste textile recycling are strengthening globally. On the other hand, the awakening of sustainable consumption awareness and the responsible leadership of brands have become critical forces on the market side. These multi-stakeholder collaborations are driving the textile industry's transformation toward a dual focus on environmental and economic benefits.
References :
[1] The Circularity Gap Report Textiles
[2] GFA’s Pulse Reports, https://globalfashionagenda.org/pulse-of-the-industry/
[3] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/textiles-strategy_en
[4] https://parisgoodfashion.fr/en/news/europe-can-achieve-fibre-to-fibre-recycling-at-scale-by-2030-mckinsey-451/
[5] https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tessd_e/09_circ_economy_presentation_by_china.pdf
[6] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/textiles-strategy_en
[7] https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/politiques-publiques/produits-textiles-tlc