The most important factors affecting demand in the textile industry are digitalization, responsible consumption, and fast fashion nowadays. As a result of consumers demanding higher functional performance at lower prices in apparel and textile products, manufacturers and retailers are trying to increase the number and variety of models. In this direction, the concept of fast fashion has become a common trend in the ready-made clothing industry for the last 10 years. This new business model is built on bringing new products to the stores regularly in order to increase the number of customers coming to retail stores, to create the expectation of looking at something new every time they enter the store, and similarly to make them feel that there is a risk of not finding certain products that they liked very much in their previous visit.

This business model aims to create the feeling that the consumer should visit the stores more often, buy more products each time he visits the store, and buy more products during the season as there are new themes, colours and styles throughout the season. Many companies have started to restructure their activities according to this business model. All of these directly caused growth in the sector.

The adverse effects of the fast fashion trend are seen in many countries of the world. With the impact of rapid consumption, the amount of textile waste is increasing exponentially. Increasing textile waste threatens the future. For this reason, improving the industry’s sustainability performance is considered necessary. The production of bio-based materials such as cotton or wool consumes a lot of water and other agricultural inputs. On the other hand, fibres and yarns are mainly based on fossil raw mate and bring microfiber or microplastic problems.

Textile production causes CO2 and other emissions. Considering the high amount of water consumed during production, chemicals used in dyeing and finishing processes, and logistics processes, pollution from the sector is one of the biggest obstacles to environmental sustainability. After the product reaches the consumer, there are different effects such as resource use, water pollution and waste generation. When considering the textile and ready-made clothing industry from a sustainability perspective, it is necessary to focus not only on production but also on the entire value chain and to have a life-long impact assessment approach.

With the emergence of the concept of sustainability, the linear economy approach leaves its place to the circular economy. The concept of circular economy, intending to end the fast consumption habit and produce recyclable products, aims to close the cycle by changing the old “take-use-dispose” model and focusing on the re-evaluation of discarded materials after use.

The volume of second-hand textile products has reached high levels and will continue to increase in the future. It raises the need for global reuse, recycling and energy recovery systems to transition to a circular economy by ensuring sustainability and resource efficiency. In many countries, various projects are implemented on this subject. Each recycled waste minimises the raw material cost and maximises resource efficiency and environmental benefits. On the other hand, a circular economy aims to operate the resource circulation in a closed-loop model by establishing a system that aims to remove waste from the system at the design stage of the products, completely avoids waste storage areas and incineration and continues to use the resources as long as possible by reusing or renewing the products. The design phase is essential for constructing a textile industry’s circular economy.

Figure 1. Textile Industry Value Chain (Source: Escarus) Figure 2. The Circular Economy (Source: Escarus) differentiates environmental and climate effects affecting its lifespan. Circular business models need to be supported by policies to ensure a sustainable supply of synthetic and natural fibres, including recycling and reuse of materials.

Safe and clean material cycles can be supported by developing regulations, policies and standards targeting quality and safety needs, increasing the demand for sustainable textile products, and effective labelling processes. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is already an option in other industries to hold manufacturers accountable for materials used throughout their entire lifecycle. In addition, this option is applied in various EU countries such as France, especially in the textile sector. However, in line with the European Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) dated July 2018, the EPR system will enter into force in all member countries from 2025 on textile products.

While second-hand textile products collected by various methods can be offered for sale as original without being sorted, the products can be separated according to their usability in case of sufficient capacity. Reusable products can be sold in the country and abroad or delivered to those in need as donations. Different products, especially fibre and yarn, can be produced by recycling the products that cannot be reused, which are suitable for recycling. Non-recyclable products can be used as an insulating material, filling material, wiping cloth and oakum or subjected to energy recovery and disposal methods.

Recycling second-hand textile products and wastes to the economy, reaching the unused clothes to those in need, reduction of final waste generation, preventing space occupation in landfills, reduction of pressure on the environment due to textile production processes, less use of unprocessed fibre, less water, energy and chemical consumption, less chemical discharge to the environment, creating additional employment, providing alternative raw materials for various sectors, causing less damage to the environment by energy recovery. Within the scope of the European Waste Framework Directive, a separate collection of clothing and textile products is a recommendation for today, but it will become a mandatory practice in every EU member state from 2025.

The textile sector in the European Green Consensus, Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) and Industrial Strategy; are defined as the priority sector for the EU to become carbon neutral and evolve into a circular economy, and a roadmap on textile products occurred in January 2021. With this roadmap, the Commission summarizes the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the EU industrial ecosystem, outlines the need to address the current and expected sensitivities on both the demand and supply sides, and aims to adapt the textile ecosystem to the circular economy within the scope of the strategy, sustainable production, sustainable lifestyles, intends to offer action recommendations regarding the presence of hazardous substances, improving textile waste collection and recycling, and capacity building. With this initiative of the European Commission, which aims to strengthen the EU market in order to reach a sustainable and circular textile sector, it is expected to set targets to increase green public tenders as well as reuse and recycling efforts in the EU.

Within the scope of circular economy practices in the textile sector, applications such as reuse of second-hand products, fibre and yarn production from waste textiles, and recycled yarn production from pet bottles are widely used. Re-use of second-hand textile products collected through charities worldwide can be achieved. The second-hand clothing collection, sorting and recycling services offered by Texaid, headquartered in Switzerland, with more than 1,200 employees and more than 40 years of experience, are examples of good practice. However, different ready-made clothing brands also have applications in this direction.

For example, recycling bins are occasionally placed so that old clothes can be reused or recycled at Zara and H&M stores. Also, discount coupons are provided to encourage the collection of second-hand clothes. The products that cannot be used from the second-hand textile products collected in this way are recycled, and the regenerated yarn is obtained and used in the production of textile products. Brands that produce sportswear products, such as Nike and Adidas, promote using recycled materials in their products.Circular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile IndustryCircular Economy in Textile Industry