Textile Recycling

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Textile recycling is the method of reusing or reprocessing used clothing, fibrous material and clothing scraps from the manufacturing process. Textiles in municipal solid waste are found mainly in discarded clothing, although other sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and nondurable goods such as sheets and towels.

Learn about the fashion industries effect on pollution.

Textile recycling is the method of reusing or reprocessing used clothing, fibrous material and clothing scraps from the manufacturing process. Textiles in municipal solid waste are found mainly in discarded clothing, although other sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and nondurable goods such as sheets and towels.

Learn more about the textile industry from the textile industry definition.

Textiles and leather recycling categories:

Cotton Recycling

Wool Recycling

Burlap, Jute and Sisal Recycling

Polyurethane Foam Recycling

Polyester and Polyester fiber Recycling

Nylon and Nylon fiber Recycling

Other Synthetic fiber Recycling

Carpet Recycling

Rags and Wipers

Used and Recycled Bags

Used Clothing

Used Footwear

Leather Recycling

Textile Recycling Employment

Other Textile Waste

Textile collection

For consumers the most common way of recycling textiles is reuse through reselling or donating to charity (Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, etc.) However certain communities in the United States have been accepting textiles in curbside pickup since 1990. The textiles must be clean and dry for them to be accepted being recycled. Some companies, such as Patagonia, an outdoor clothing and gear company, accept their product back for recycling.

Reuse

Textile reuse is not classified as "recycling" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ because the reused garments and wiper rags re-enter the waste stream eventually, so these techniques are classified as a diversion and not recovery for recycling estimates.

Resale

After collection of the textiles workers sort and separate collected textiles into good quality clothing and shoes which can be reused or worn.

Conversion to rags

Damaged textiles are sorted to make industrial wiping cloths

If you wish to help the environment, you may also have interest in organic fashion.

Obstacles

If textile re-processors receive wet or soiled clothes however, these may still end up being disposed of in landfill, as the washing and drying facilities are not present at sorting units.

Process

Clothing and fabric generally consists of composites of cotton (biodegradable material) and synthetic plastics. The textile's composition will affect its durability and method of recycling.

fiber reclamation mills grade incoming material into type and color. The color sorting means no re-dying has to take place, saving energy and pollutants. The textiles are shredded into "shoddy" fibers and blended with other selected fibers, depending on the intended end use of the recycled yarn. The blended mixture is carded to clean and mix the fibers and spun ready for weaving or knitting. The fibers can also be compressed for mattress production. Textiles sent to the flocking industry are shredded to make filling material for car insulation, roofing felts, loudspeaker cones, panel linings and furniture padding.

For specialized polyester based materials the recycling process is significantly different. The first step is to remove the buttons and zippers then to cut the garments into small pieces. The shredded fabric is then granulated and formed into small pellets. The pellets are broken down polymerized and turned into polyester chips. The chips are melted and spun into new filament fiber used to make new polyester fabrics.

Some companies are creating new pieces of clothing from scraps of old clothes. By combining and making new additions, the eclectic garments are marketed as a type of style.

United States Environmental Protection Agency Textiles

Learn more about textiles.

Learn about Textile Waste. 

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Learn about knit fabrics.

Learn about woven fabrics.

Textiles recycling is a good thing.  Continue to research this subject and do your best to recycle old clothing & fabrics.

Textile & Clothing definitions and Glossaries:
Fashion Industry   Fashion Network

Sorting Is the Whole System

Textile recycling works because a discarded garment is rarely one material in one condition. The collection stream — clothing, furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, sheets and towels — is sorted at several levels before any reprocessing begins. Wearable clothing and shoes are separated for resale and reuse; damaged textiles become industrial wiping cloths; the remainder goes to fiber reclamation, where the crucial step is grading into type and color. Color sorting matters for a practical reason: if the incoming material is already sorted by color, no re-dyeing has to take place, saving energy and pollutants, and the recycled yarn carries the color of its source. Composition matters too: a garment's blend of cotton and synthetic plastics affects both its durability and its recycling method, and wet or soiled clothes received by re-processors may still end up in landfill, because washing and drying facilities are not present at sorting units — clean and dry is not a suggestion but a requirement of the system.

Two Routes: Shoddy and Polymer

Most fiber recycling follows the shoddy route: textiles are shredded into shoddy fibers, blended with other selected fibers depending on the intended end use, carded to clean and mix, and spun ready for weaving or knitting, or compressed for mattress production. Material sent to the flocking industry is shredded for filling — car insulation, roofing felts, loudspeaker cones, panel linings and furniture padding. Specialized polyester-based materials take a different route: buttons and zippers are removed, garments are cut into small pieces, the shredded fabric is granulated into pellets, the pellets are broken down and polymerized into polyester chips, and the chips are melted and spun into new filament fiber for new polyester fabrics. Some companies also create new garments directly from scraps of old clothes, combining and adding to them as an eclectic style. Together these routes mean very little of a collected textile need be waste — provided it arrives clean, dry and sorted.

Common Questions

How do consumers recycle textiles?

For consumers the most common way is reuse through reselling or donating to charity — Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army and similar organizations — and certain communities in the United States have accepted textiles in curbside pickup since 1990. Textiles must be clean and dry to be accepted for recycling, and some companies, such as Patagonia, accept their own product back for recycling.

What happens to textiles that cannot be reworn?

After collection, workers sort and separate good quality clothing and shoes for reuse. Damaged textiles are sorted to make industrial wiping cloths, and fiber reclamation mills grade material into type and color, shred it into shoddy fibers, blend it with other fibers, card it to clean and mix, and spin it for weaving or knitting — or compress it for mattress production.

Is reuse the same as recycling?

Not in the accounting sense: textile reuse is not classified as recycling by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, because reused garments and wiper rags re-enter the waste stream eventually, so these techniques are classified as a diversion and not recovery for recycling estimates.

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