World of Waste is dedicated to uniting industry-wide efforts to develop and disseminate data on textile waste.
Our platform consolidates data from individual studies by partnering with ecosystem players to make information readily accessible. Our goal is to provide a resource that allows stakeholders to identify & utilise textile waste hotspots arising through manufacture and use.
The platform is co-developed by Fashion for Good and partners, who collectively share data and insights to enrich the utility of the platform.
Methodology
The World of Waste has been developed to consolidate research on textile waste across different regions, types and time periods. Given the diverse nature of this research, methodologies may vary between entries. The homepage offers an overview, but we invite you to explore the detailed information and methodologies within each entry. Additionally, you can find links to the source reports and services for in-depth information.
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28.5M
Tonnes of textile waste mapped
14
Number of countries mapped
9+
Upcoming countries
Partners
Fashion for Good is an Innovation Platform – connecting those working on sustainable innovation with brands, manufacturers and funders to bring new ideas and technologies from niche to norm. Fashion for Good identifies and supports innovators by providing hands-on project management, access to funding and a robust ecosystem of mentors and experts. Through its scaling programme, it supports select innovators on their journey to scale, with a focus on driving supply chain implementation, catalysing finance and amplifying success stories.
Learn moreLaudes Foundation seeks to address the defining challenges of our time: climate change, nature loss and social inequality. The Foundation is driven by the belief that business, when guided by values, rules and incentives, can be powerful agents for positive change. Laudes Foundation combines the catalytic power of philanthropy to work with and through business and industry to advance system change.
Learn moreIDH seeks to transform markets through collaborative innovation, convening and investment in inclusive and sustainable solutions that enable businesses to create value for people and the planet. To achieve this, IDH brings together coalitions of committed stakeholders from across global value chains towards joint visions and program agendas for sustainable trade.
Learn moreReverse Resources is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform to match textile waste with the best possible recycling solutions, enable predictive transparency and build data-driven supply chains. The platform traces textile waste to 15+ largest T2T recyclers from hundreds of factories in real-time.
Learn moreGlobal Fashion Agenda is a non-profit organisation that fosters industry collaboration on sustainability in fashion to accelerate impact. With the vision of a net positive fashion industry, it drives action by mobilising, inspiring, influencing and educating all stakeholders. The organisation has been leading the movement since 2009 and presents the renowned international forum on sustainability in fashion, Global Fashion Summit.
Learn moreCircle Economy is driving the transition to a new economy. A global non-profit organisation, Circle Economy was founded in 2011 with a vision for an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive. Based in Amsterdam, we work with partners worldwide, equipping them with the insights, strategies, and tools to accelerate the circular economy transition. Our international team combines research, data analysis, advisory services, and capacity-building programmes across four focus areas: finance, cities, employment, and value chains. Circle Economy is the organisation behind the Circularity Gap Report (CGR®), the leading global benchmark for measuring and tracking circularity.
Learn moreAccelerating Circularity is an action-oriented nonprofit focused on textile-to-textile recycling systems at commercial scale through a collaborative, stakeholder-led approach. The AC mission is to catalyze new circular supply chains and business models to turn used textiles into mainstream raw materials.
Learn moreFashion Takes Action (FTA) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2007, dedicated to advancing sustainability, ethics, and circularity in the entire fashion system. Rooted in education, FTA works to remove barriers, identify opportunities for innovation and impact, and foster collaboration to drive meaningful progress.
Learn moreTEXroad is a neutral, Netherlands-based foundation empowering the circular textile value chain and the public sector to unlock greater value through data-driven collaboration. We are industry experts and data nerds making circular textiles smarter and more connected, bringing value to business, society, and the planet.
Learn moreGlossary
Chemical recycling
The processes by which fibres are broken down to the polymer or monomer level. There are diverse recycling technologies encompassed under this archetype, including amongst others pulping processes to recycle cotton and viscose, solvent-based processes to recycle polyester and polycotton, to processes such as glycolysis, hydrolysis and enzymatic that take polyester and polyamide back to monomers.
Disruptor
An element present on a textile product (eg, fastener, button, zipper, fabric patch etc.) that may be a disruptor to the recycling process and will need to be removed before the product is suitable as feedstock for recycling.
Downcycling
Reprocessing discarded textiles to create new consumer or industrial products, in a process that is usually mechanical (cutting, shredding, bonding). Discarded textiles are no longer in their original form, and new products do not re-enter the textile supply chain, resulting in a subsequent use that is of lower value than the original source of the material.
Mechanical recycling
The process by which textiles are cut, shredded and opened into fibres that are usable for diverse applications. They may include downcycling applications such as fibres for insulation, filling or non-woven for automotive and other industries as well as fibre-to-fibre applications. For the purpose of this Project, the potential feedstock for mechanical recycling is only presented for fibre-to-fibre recycling.
Non-rewearable
Garments and household textiles that cannot be reused in their original form and are made from one or multiple types or layers of textiles.
Post-industrial
Any waste that gets generated as a by-product of industrial processes such as milling, spinning, printing and garmenting. This waste is a subset of the pre-consumer waste.
Post-Consumer
Textiles that have been disposed of after consumption and use by the citizen or end-users of commercial or industrial institutions, processed by a specialised textile sorter.
Pre-Consumer
Pre-consumer waste includes all post-industrial waste as well as any leftover/unsold materials or products such as fabric ends, unsold garments, etc. This website does not incorporate pre-consumer waste due to limited coverage.
Rewearable
Garments that can be reused in their original form, for their original purpose, is known as “product reuse” among many textile collectors/sorters.