Textile recycling is a modern trend so dear to environmental activists it is still in its infancy stage. But apparel produced from recycled textiles fetches premium prices in developed economies. The textile recycling market size was $5.02 billion in 2021.
A report by IMARC Group highlights the opportunities and challenges in textile recycling along with its expected growth in recycling in the next five years ending in 2027. The report titled “Textile Recycling Market provides a comprehensive analysis of the textile recycling industry.
The report predicts that the recycling market would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.6 percent in the next five years to reach $5.86 billion by 2027. Some experts though say that market might grow at a much higher pace in view of the European Union initiative that expects companies to market produce apparel from recycled materials.
In textiles, recycling procedures are adopted to reprocess and reuse used clothing, fibrous waste materials or scraps recovered from discarded clothes, carpets, furniture, towels, sheets, and even PET bottles. The major issue in this regard is the collection of these materials in sufficient quantities. Wool recycling would produce wool fiber that is converted into wool yarn, cotton recycling would finally produce cotton yarn, and polyester fiber could be obtained by recycling polyester-made clothing and even PET bottles.
Textile recycling offers both environmental and economic benefits. It spares land for other purposes, reduces water pollution, and minimizes the use of virgin fibers. The dye and energy use is also significantly controlled. In Pakistan, many apparel exporters are using fiber produced from used PET bottles and marketing the products at a premium price.
