Textile Recycling Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

The Textile Recycling Market is Segmented by Material (Cotton, Polyester & Polyester Fiber, and Others), by Waste Source (Pre-Consumer and Post-Consumer), by End-User Application (Apparel & Fashion, Industrial, and Others), by Recycling Process (Mechanical, Chemical, and Others), and by Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Others). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Textile Recycling Market Size and Share

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Textile Recycling Market Analysis by Mordor Intelligence

The Textile Recycling Market reached USD 6.62 billion in 2025 and is forecast to climb to USD 10.48 billion by 2030, reflecting a 9.60% CAGR through the period. Heightened regulatory pressure, particularly the European Union’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy, is turning waste liabilities into revenue streams and reshaping investment priorities. Fast-fashion brands now anchor long-term offtake agreements that guarantee demand for recycled fibers, allowing technology providers to unlock financing for advanced depolymerization plants. Asia’s manufacturing concentration supplies abundant feedstock, while the Middle East gains ground on the back of circular-economy incentives. Chemical recycling breakthroughs are closing the quality gap with virgin materials, yet high capital costs and energy intensity remain persistent headwinds.

Key Report Takeaways

  • By material, polyester held 45% of the textile recycling market share in 2024, while nylon is advancing at a 9.6% CAGR through 2030.
  • By waste source, post-consumer waste commanded 61% of the textile recycling market in 2024; pre-consumer sources recorded the fastest expansion at 8.7% CAGR to 2030.
  • By application, apparel accounted for 40.3% of demand in 2024, whereas automotive is projected to grow 9.7% annually to 2030.
  • By process, mechanical methods captured 82% of the textile recycling market size in 2024; chemical routes are widening at a 12.8% CAGR.
  • By geography, Asia-Pacific dominated with a 46.5% share in 2024; the Middle East is poised for an 8.9% CAGR to 2030.

Segment Analysis

By Material: Polyester Dominance Drives Chemical Innovation

Polyester accounted for 45% of the textile recycling market in 2024 on the back of established PET supply chains and consumer familiarity. Mechanical processes handle clear streams efficiently, while chemical depolymerisation eliminates quality drop-offs, widening usage in high-end apparel. The nylon segment is expanding at 9.6% CAGR, buoyed by automotive and sportswear blends that demand high tensile strength. Technologies such as ECONYL feed closed-loop loops, signalling commercial readiness. Cotton encounters policy limits in China, but blend-recovery chemistries like REFIBRA open incremental niches. Smaller categories, wool, silk, and acrylic advance as pilot lines prove technical feasibility, and brands diversify raw-material strategies.

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By Waste Source: Pre-Consumer Growth Outpaces Post-Consumer Volume

Post-consumer streams held a 61% share in 2024, reflecting landfill diversion mandates and established charity-collection networks. Yet pre-consumer waste is projected to expand at 8.7% CAGR as factory off-cuts deliver uniform composition, higher yields, and 20–30% value premiums. The EU separate-collection rule, effective in 2025, will double regional post-consumer volumes by 2030, squeezing margins unless automated sorting improves. Digital passports and colour-sort robotics are emerging fixes that can unlock latent value by boosting identification accuracy.

By End-user Application: Automotive Acceleration Outpaces Apparel Growth

Apparel retained 40.3% share in 2024, supported by brand pledges for recycled content across flagship lines. Automotive interiors and NVH components, however, are forecast to rise 9.7% annually to 2030 due to regulatory fuel-efficiency targets and acoustic performance gains. Industry players demonstrate recycled polyamide composites with tensile strength exceeding 67 MPa, meeting OEM thresholds. Industrial wipes, filtration media and insulation panels represent additional outlets, broadening revenue streams beyond fashion.

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By Recycling Process: Chemical Growth Challenges Mechanical Dominance

Mechanical routes made up 82% of the textile recycling market size in 2024 thanks to simplicity and low cost. Chemical techniques are growing 12.8% a year as proof-of-concept plants de-risk scalable chemistry. Ioncell and CuRe achieve near-virgin quality outputs, winning commitments from global brands. Thermal recovery declines as policy frameworks favour material circularity over combustion, re-orienting investment towards value-added processes.

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific led with 46.5% share in 2024, anchored by massive fiber production and export-oriented apparel hubs that generate sizeable scrap volumes. China’s 26 million-ton waste stream dwarfs global peers, yet recycled-content restrictions funnel much of the output abroad, muting domestic demand. Vietnam emerges as a preferred build site for gigascale plants because of policy incentives and proximity to manufacturing clusters. India lags on infrastructure: only 13% of waste is reused, but central-government initiatives and private partnerships are gaining traction.

The Middle East is the fastest-growing region at an 8.9% CAGR. UAE programs such as Circulife pair retail-collection drives with processing capacity, positioning the Gulf as a regional recycling hub. Turkey leverages its customs-union status with the EU to import European post-consumer bales, process them cost-effectively and re-export yarns, tapping an under-served adjacency between two large consumption zones.

Europe acts as the regulatory bellwether; EPR implementation starting 2025 is projected to lift collected volumes to 4.5-7.2 million tons by 2030. North America follows with state-level mandates like California’s SB 707 and federal coordination efforts that could unlock a USD 1.5 billion fiber-to-fiber opportunity. South America’s incipient projects in Brazil and Chile illustrate growing interest, especially where governments view recycling as a job-creation lever.

Textile Recycling Market
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Competitive Landscape

Competitive intensity remains high and dispersed. No single player holds more than a low single-digit share, reflecting varied regional regulations, technology divergence, and feedstock logistics. Start-ups, including Circ, Syre, and Infinited Fiber, prioritise chemical routes, while incumbents such as Lenzing, Eastman, and Unifi leverage existing purification assets to scale mechanically recycled lines. Strategic alliances anchor most capacity expansions: Circ aligns with Aditya Birla for pulp supply, and Eastman collaborates with apparel brands for offtake, marrying upstream security with downstream demand certainty.

Digital-native entrants like Swatchloop and TextileGenesis monetise data services, offering AI-driven sorting guidance and traceability credentials that reduce compliance costs. Automated-sorting specialists partner with waste-management majors, eyeing integrated solutions that give recyclers bale-grade specifications and predictability. Financial investors target proven platforms: KKR-backed deals and multilateral-bank loans fund regional hubs where regulatory clarity and feedstock access converge.

Technology differentiation still defines value capture. Companies delivering blend-agnostic depolymerisation or low-energy solvents gain pricing power and fast adoption. Yet high CAPEX fosters regional monopolies around each plant, limiting global consolidation in the near term. As more EPR fees flow into infrastructure, the field is expected to tilt toward vertically integrated operators that control collection, processing and branded materials.

Textile Recycling Industry Leaders

  1. Worn Again Technologies

  2. Lenzing Group

  3. Birla Cellulose

  4. Pistoni S.R.L

  5. Waste Management Inc.

  6. *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
Textile Recycling Market Concentration
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Recent Industry Developments

  • June 2025: Eastman debuted Naia™ Renew bedding fill with 40% recycled content, widening application scope in home textiles Eastman.
  • May 2025: Department of Energy withdrew Eastman’s USD 375 million grant for its Texas facility, underlining policy-driven risk Resource Recycling.
  • March 2025: Lenzing expanded LENZING™ Lyocell Fill portfolio, adding finer variants for comfort and resource efficiency Lenzing.
  • February 2025: Reju and Nouvelles Fibres Textiles formed a French ecosystem to supply secondary raw materials that cut Reju Polyester™ carbon footprint by 50% Reju.

Table of Contents for Textile Recycling Industry Report

1. Introduction

  • 1.1 Study Assumptions & Market Definition
  • 1.2 Scope of the Study

2. Research Methodology

3. Executive Summary

4. Market Landscape

  • 4.1 Market Overview
  • 4.2 Market Drivers
    • 4.2.1 Green Deal-Driven Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Roll-out in the EU
    • 4.2.2 Fast-Fashion Brand Commitments to ≥50 % Recycled Fiber by 2026
    • 4.2.3 Chemical Depolymerisation Scale-ups Unlocking Closed-Loop Polyester
    • 4.2.4 China’s Landfill/Incineration Quotas Forcing Domestic Mill Recycling Investments
    • 4.2.5 Block-Chain Traceability Platforms (e.g., TextileGenesis) Boosting Brand Acceptance
    • 4.2.6 Automotive NVH Demand for Recycled Non-wovens in North America
  • 4.3 Market Restraints
    • 4.3.1 High-CAPEX & Energy-Intensive Chemical Lines Limiting Commercialisation
    • 4.3.2 Fiber-Blend Contamination Complicating Automated Sorting & Yield
    • 4.3.3 Absence of Bale-Grade Pricing Benchmarks Dampening Investor Confidence
    • 4.3.4 Fragmented Collection Infrastructure in US & Emerging Asia
  • 4.4 Value / Supply-Chain Analysis
  • 4.5 Regulatory Outlook
  • 4.6 Technological Outlook
  • 4.7 Industry Attractiveness - Porter’s Five Forces
    • 4.7.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
    • 4.7.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers
    • 4.7.3 Threat of New Entrants
    • 4.7.4 Threat of Substitutes
    • 4.7.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry

5. Market Size & Growth Forecasts (Value, USD Billion)

  • 5.1 By Material
    • 5.1.1 Cotton
    • 5.1.2 Polyester & Polyester Fiber
    • 5.1.3 Wool
    • 5.1.4 Nylon & Nylon Fiber
    • 5.1.5 Others (Silk, Acrylic, Blends)
  • 5.2 By Waste Source
    • 5.2.1 Pre-consumer (Factory off-cuts, Yarn waste)
    • 5.2.2 Post-consumer (Discarded Garments & Household Textiles)
  • 5.3 By Application End-user
    • 5.3.1 Apparel & Fashion
    • 5.3.2 Industrial (Wipes, Filtration, Safety Gear)
    • 5.3.3 Home Furnishings & Carpets
    • 5.3.4 Automotive & Transportation
    • 5.3.5 Building & Construction
    • 5.3.6 Others (Retail/Consumer Products, etc.)
  • 5.4 By Recycling Process
    • 5.4.1 Mechanical Recycling
    • 5.4.2 Chemical Recycling (Depolymerisation, Dissolution)
    • 5.4.3 Thermal/Energy Recovery
  • 5.5 By Geography
    • 5.5.1 North America
    • 5.5.1.1 United States
    • 5.5.1.2 Canada
    • 5.5.1.3 Mexico
    • 5.5.2 South America
    • 5.5.2.1 Brazil
    • 5.5.2.2 Argentina
    • 5.5.2.3 Chile
    • 5.5.2.4 Rest of South America
    • 5.5.3 Europe
    • 5.5.3.1 Germany
    • 5.5.3.2 United Kingdom
    • 5.5.3.3 France
    • 5.5.3.4 Italy
    • 5.5.3.5 Spain
    • 5.5.3.6 BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)
    • 5.5.3.7 NORDICS (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
    • 5.5.3.8 Rest of Europe
    • 5.5.4 Asia-Pacific
    • 5.5.4.1 China
    • 5.5.4.2 India
    • 5.5.4.3 Japan
    • 5.5.4.4 South Korea
    • 5.5.4.5 ASEAN (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam)
    • 5.5.4.6 Rest of Asia-Pacific
    • 5.5.5 Middle East and Africa
    • 5.5.5.1 Saudi Arabia
    • 5.5.5.2 United Arab Emirates
    • 5.5.5.3 Turkey
    • 5.5.5.4 South Africa
    • 5.5.5.5 Nigeria
    • 5.5.5.6 Egypt
    • 5.5.5.7 Rest of Middle East and Africa

6. Competitive Landscape

  • 6.1 Market Concentration
  • 6.2 Strategic Moves (M&A, Capacity Adds, Brand Off-take Deals)
  • 6.3 Market Share Analysis
  • 6.4 Company Profiles {(includes Global level Overview, Market level overview, Core Segments, Financials as available, Strategic Information, Products & Services, and Recent Developments)}
    • 6.4.1 Lenzing AG
    • 6.4.2 Birla Cellulose (Aditya Birla)
    • 6.4.3 Unifi Inc.
    • 6.4.4 Renewcell AB
    • 6.4.5 Worn Again Technologies
    • 6.4.6 Waste Management Inc.
    • 6.4.7 American Textile Recycling Service
    • 6.4.8 Boer Group Recycling Solutions
    • 6.4.9 I:Collect GmbH (I:CO)
    • 6.4.10 Infinited Fiber Co.
    • 6.4.11 Eastman Chemical Co. (Naia™ Renew)
    • 6.4.12 Circ LLC
    • 6.4.13 Carbios SA
    • 6.4.14 Loop Industries Inc.
    • 6.4.15 Soex Group
    • 6.4.16 Textile Recycling International
    • 6.4.17 Evrnu SPC
    • 6.4.18 Pistoni SRL
    • 6.4.19 Gemini Corporation NV
    • 6.4.20 The Woolmark Company*

7. Market Opportunities & Future Outlook

  • 7.1 White-space & Unmet-Need Assessment
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Global Textile Recycling Market Report Scope

The textile recycling market includes processes and activities involved in the collection, sorting, processing, and reuse of textile and clothing products to extend the life of textile and clothing products and reduce their environmental impact. In the textile and fashion sectors, it aims to remove textiles from landfills, reduce waste, and promote a circular economy.

A complete background analysis of the textile recycling market, including the assessment of the economy and contribution of sectors in the economy, market overview, market size estimation for key segments, and emerging trends in the market segments, market dynamics, and geographical trends, and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, is covered in the report.

The textile recycling market is segmented by material (cotton, polyester and polyester fiber, wool, nylon and nylon fiber, and others), source (apparel waste, home furnishing waste, automotive waste, and others), process (mechanical and chemical), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America). The report offers market size and forecasts for all the above segments in value (USD).​

By Material Cotton
Polyester & Polyester Fiber
Wool
Nylon & Nylon Fiber
Others (Silk, Acrylic, Blends)
By Waste Source Pre-consumer (Factory off-cuts, Yarn waste)
Post-consumer (Discarded Garments & Household Textiles)
By Application End-user Apparel & Fashion
Industrial (Wipes, Filtration, Safety Gear)
Home Furnishings & Carpets
Automotive & Transportation
Building & Construction
Others (Retail/Consumer Products, etc.)
By Recycling Process Mechanical Recycling
Chemical Recycling (Depolymerisation, Dissolution)
Thermal/Energy Recovery
By Geography North America United States
Canada
Mexico
South America Brazil
Argentina
Chile
Rest of South America
Europe Germany
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Spain
BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)
NORDICS (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
Rest of Europe
Asia-Pacific China
India
Japan
South Korea
ASEAN (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam)
Rest of Asia-Pacific
Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Turkey
South Africa
Nigeria
Egypt
Rest of Middle East and Africa
By Material
Cotton
Polyester & Polyester Fiber
Wool
Nylon & Nylon Fiber
Others (Silk, Acrylic, Blends)
By Waste Source
Pre-consumer (Factory off-cuts, Yarn waste)
Post-consumer (Discarded Garments & Household Textiles)
By Application End-user
Apparel & Fashion
Industrial (Wipes, Filtration, Safety Gear)
Home Furnishings & Carpets
Automotive & Transportation
Building & Construction
Others (Retail/Consumer Products, etc.)
By Recycling Process
Mechanical Recycling
Chemical Recycling (Depolymerisation, Dissolution)
Thermal/Energy Recovery
By Geography
North America United States
Canada
Mexico
South America Brazil
Argentina
Chile
Rest of South America
Europe Germany
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Spain
BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)
NORDICS (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
Rest of Europe
Asia-Pacific China
India
Japan
South Korea
ASEAN (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam)
Rest of Asia-Pacific
Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Turkey
South Africa
Nigeria
Egypt
Rest of Middle East and Africa
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Key Questions Answered in the Report

What is the current size of the textile recycling market?

The textile recycling market reached USD 6.62 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to USD 10.48 billion by 2030.

Which material segment dominates textile recycling?

Polyester leads, holding 45% of the textile recycling market share in 2024.

Why is the Middle East the fastest-growing region?

Government circular-economy programs, such as the UAE’s Circulife, coupled with strategic location between Europe and Asia, drive an 8.9% CAGR through 2030.

How do Extended Producer Responsibility policies influence the market?

EPR shifts end-of-life costs to producers, ensuring predictable fee revenue for recyclers and mandating collection systems that expand feedstock supply across the EU and other adopting regions.

Page last updated on: June 23, 2025

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