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New report says textile gone to waste could be worth $150 billion

12/08/2025
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has released a report today that assesses the value of waste textiles globally. In Spinning Textile Waste into Value, the report estimates that ‘textile waste’ reached 120 tonnes globally in 2024 and could well exceed 150 million ‘within the next five years’. It estimates that $150 billion in raw materials value is lost every year. The report indicates that in 2024 around 80% of discarded clothes were landfilled or incinerated and 12% reused. 

The report concedes that it is unlikely that $150 billion in value could be recovered, but it believes that ‘substantial untapped potential exists’. “With the right investments to build a large-scale circular textile economy, waste recycling rates could exceed 30%, yielding new fibres with a raw material value of more than $50 billion and creating approximately 180,000 new jobs,” it states. 

BCG recommends five key actions to pave the way to a circular economy: promoting demand for textiles with recycled fibres, collecting more waste, modernising sorting, scaling effective recycling solutions and investing in innovation.

Read up on the impact of garment design on sorting in our latest issue. 

Related stories:

TE’s framework aims to track source of recycled polyester 23/07/2025
Circle-8 and Reju aim for UK-wide recycling 'ecosystem' 21/07/2025
Partners unveil textile-to-textile project results 29/05/2025
Handheld textile ID technology to go on display at Brussels event 22/05/2025
UK partners outline route for circular fashion 20/05/2025
Investors see potential in textiles scanners 14/04/2025
Collaborative effort to boost textile recycling in North America 30/10/2024
New insights into used clothes trade 11/10/2024

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