WRAP has issued a warning that the UK’s used textile sector is under threat and if it goes under, charities, local authorities and consumers will have to pay the cost of dealing with unwanted used textiles.

WRAP predicts the cost of the sector collapsing would be an additional £64 million per year in costs of gate fees for local authorities, further to the £73 million local authorities already pay for the textiles consumers currently put in the bin. The cost of collecting and sorting worn-out textiles in the UK is estimated at £88 million per year. Charities will lose income, and existing collections and sorting will not be able to operate. Councils will have to choose between sending more material to landfill and incineration or paying more for collections, with no other option to foot the bill than increasing council tax.

Without funding support, costs of up to £200 million per year by 2035 can be expected should the burden fall on councils to collect and dispose of unwanted clothes. The £64 million increase in costs would happen alongside an immediate impact to the environment with an increase of  around 2.5 million tons of CO2e per year due to the increase in landfill and incineration.

Operating at a loss

The cost for collectors and sorters to gather and process the UK’s worn-out textiles was previously balanced out by the money they made on reuseable items, but this is no longer the case – there are fewer reusable items that are desirable on the global second-hand markets. Most businesses are currently operating at a loss and out of public service.

“This is an existential threat to the collecting, sorting and grading sector that’s been in the UK for more than a hundred years,” says Catherine David, incoming CEO at WRAP. “The impact of this sector folding will be catastrophic. Generating and increasing the value of our worn-out clothing must be fast-tracked if the industry is to be salvaged. We have a vision to make that happen and future-proof this key part of the circular economy for textiles developed through our ACT UK project.”

Solutions

WRAP has identified three solutions that together could help save the industry and ensure used clothing is not wasted – automatic sorting, extended producer responsibility (EPR) and a redesign of retailer take-back schemes.

WRAP’s ACT UK project involved 18 partners across the textile value chain, led by textiles take-back platform Reskinned and supported by organisations including retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer. It aimed to establish a blueprint for advanced sorting and pre-processing facilities in the UK which have a higher value.

The public appetite for recycling worn-out clothing is high. During the ACT UK collection trials, up to 46% more textiles were collected by giving the public an opportunity to donate their worn-out textiles alongside textiles that could be reused by someone else.

Advanced sorting and pre-processing facilities would save worn-out items from being sent to landfill, incineration or overseas to destinations already overwhelmed and unequipped to deal with the scale of the West’s used textiles, instead creating feedstock for textile recycling.

Network

By creating a network of fourteen 25,000-ton capacity per year advanced sorting and pre-processing facilities in the UK, it is estimated that the cost for collecting and sorting worn out clothing would be reduced by around 50% by 2035.

“Non-reusable textiles are not waste, they are resources,” says Cyndi Rhoades, co-founder and CEO at London-based Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems, which has just acquired an AI-driven, automated textiles sorting line from Danish innovation company NewRetex. “Through automated sorting and pre-processing for recycling, these resources will replace the use of virgin materials in textile production”

WRAP outlines how this advanced automated sorting plan will work for the UK in two reports launched as part of the ACT UK project that can be accessed here.

EPR is a policy that is being developed in many regions around the world as a means to fund and support textile collections, sorting and recycling. Eco-modulated EPR is a more sophisticated policy that incentivises the design of sustainable and circular fashion.

Demand for EPR from all parts of the value chain is strong, but it is not the only policy lever of EPR that will be necessary. At the request of government, WRAP has developed a suite of policy recommendations and will be spearheading an industry-agreed EPR framework over the next year in collaboration with other NGOs. 

Patchwork

Building upon existing work on an EPR system design by both WRAP and other sector stakeholders, over the next year WRAP will seek to plug the patchwork of EPR system design recommendations, ultimately helping the sector to take progressive steps towards the implementation of an impactful, informed, cost effective and evidence-based EPR system.

WRAP is also proposing a new collaborative approach to retailer take back, to maximise the power of the UK Textiles Pact retailer and brand signatories.

The Textile Collections System Transition Programme will partner with leading brands to co-design easier, more effective textile takeback schemes that work for consumers and the sector alike.

It aims to support the collecting and sorting industry, and ultimately ensure less textiles end up in residual waste.

WRAP is inviting brands and retailers to join it and its partners to accelerate this approach for the mutual benefit of the wider textile industry.

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