The UK retail industry is joining forces to promote a textile recycling initiative called The Circuit, aiming to establish an industrial-scale recycling channel for the large volume of used clothing that has lost its reuse value. New Look, Marks & Spencer (M&S), and Sainsbury's-owned Tu Clothing have joined the initiative as founding retail partners.

It is estimated that the UK generated approximately 1.4 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles in 2024, nearly half of which can no longer be worn or used, making the need for scaled textile fibre recycling increasingly urgent. The Circuit's approach is to collect, sort, and pre-process these waste textiles into feedstock for existing and emerging fiber-to-fiber recycling technologies. Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems is responsible for building the infrastructure and commercial framework behind the initiative, with a model that includes locating automated sorting and pre-processing facilities near where textiles reach the end of their useful life.

The first phase of the project is scheduled to launch in January 2027 at the Oxfam site in Batley, Yorkshire, focusing on automated sorting, traceability, identifying recycling opportunities, and building partnerships with recyclers. Oxfam will operate the automated sorting equipment, separating textiles that can still be reused from materials that can no longer be worn, and contributing its long-standing experience in textile collection, reuse, and recycling.

The involvement of the three founding retailers will be used to test practical recycling models and build a more reliable supply chain for recycled textile materials. For M&S, The Circuit also serves its "Plan A for Another Life" goal — to give 5 million items a second life through re-wearing, repairing, reselling, and recycling by 2030.

From an industry perspective, this initiative marks a shift in UK waste textile management from mere "collection" to "industrial-scale material recycling": by stabilizing the supply of post-consumer textile feedstock, it helps recycling companies expand capacity while reducing dependence on virgin materials.

Source: UK retailers launch ‘The Circuit’ to scale textile recycling · Originally published 2026-09-27