Post-consumption textile waste is one of the biggest problems within the textile and retail ecosystem: in 2022, the European Union (EU) generated approximately 16 kilograms of textile waste per person, and Europe generated 13.3 tons of post-consumption textile waste in 2025, of which barely more than 10% was collected and selected.

As reported by Solo Moda Sostenibile, Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) report ‘Advancing textile circularity’ highlights how Textile-to-Textile (T2T) recycling remains limited and concentrated in its scope. Unless waste collection and selection increase, advancing along this trajectory will be highly challenging. The analysis emphasises the crucial role of three pillars to advance T2T practices: the increase in volumes of sorted recycling, the increase in amount and quality of waste sorting, and the development of resources and effectiveness of recycling.

Yet, BCG estimates that the fast fashion market will grow by 11% yearly from 2025 to 2035. This continuously reduces products’ life span, reinforcing unsustainable consumption habits. To scale T2T recycling, stakeholders must coordinate investments and concentrate efforts on new technologies. More specifically, BCG estimates that, to reach the 15% T2T recycling objective by 2035, there should be a €8-11 billion investment in CAPEX, which are one-time capital investments to build implants and infrastructure, and a yearly investment of €5-6.5 billion in OPEX, which are recurrent operational costs. While CAPEX costs are concentrated towards the end of the value chain, involving recycling stakeholders, CAPEX investment are focused on the collection, selection, and pre-treatment steps.

However, scaling up T2T systems significantly reduces companies’ earnings before interest and taxes, as the marginal cost of products and processes would increase due to the higher production standards and technology requirements. To solve this issue, BCG proposes structural support and shared risk mechanisms, starting with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funds.

The key challenges that ecosystem stakeholders will face are tied to economic capacity and structural risks. The marginal retribution rate for these investments is significantly reduced and associated to high capital risk, thus not making the transition appealing from a financial standpoint. While T2T recycled fibres have a higher marginal production cost, they are not more competitive or profitable than comparable options on the market, indicating that there would be no economic premium for the advancement of these initiatives. Lastly, there is great uncertainty on recyclers’ stability and predictability in supplying post-consumption textile waste, and on long-term consumer preferences and demand.