The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles" (NDRC Environmental Resources [2022] No. 526), specifying that by 2025 the recycling rate of waste textiles should reach 25% and regenerated fiber output should reach 2 million tons, and by 2030 these two indicators should rise to 30% and 3 million tons respectively. The document proposes clearing bottlenecks in each link—recycling, trading and circulation, fine sorting, and comprehensive utilization—and promoting the formation of a recycling system guided by the government, operated by the market, and participated in by the whole society.

Key Points

  • Goals: 25% recycling rate and 2 million tons of regenerated fiber output by 2025; 30% and 3 million tons by 2030
  • Each 1 kilogram of waste textiles utilized can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.6 kilograms and save 6,000 liters of water
  • Taking used military uniforms, school uniforms, workwear, law enforcement uniforms, and other standardized clothing as the first breakthrough, organize capable enterprises to carry out recycling pilots

International Reference: Second-hand Clothing Sales Are Europe's Main Destination

From international experience, foreign recycling of waste textiles mainly relies on refined garbage classification, setting up recycling bins, dedicated collection centers, and enterprise buybacks, with utilization paths including charitable donations, second-hand clothing sales (including exports), and regeneration. Among the amounts of waste textiles utilized in European countries, second-hand clothing sales account for more than 50%, making it the most important destination; about 60% of France's waste textiles are exported to Africa and Eastern Europe, and about 35% enter regeneration in the energy and building materials sectors. Some internationally renowned clothing brands have also publicly committed to targets for the use of regenerated fibers.

The orientation of the "Implementation Opinions" is consistent with the above trends, taking improving the recycling rate as the core goal while emphasizing the improvement of the standards system and the strengthening of industry supervision.

Resource Account: 1 Kilogram of Old Clothing Corresponds to 6,000 Liters of Water

The document cites calculations by research institutions: each 1 kilogram of waste textiles utilized can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.6 kilograms, save 6,000 liters of water, and reduce the use of 0.3 kilograms of chemical fertilizer and 0.2 kilograms of pesticides. The policy level hopes to use this to alleviate the shortage of textile raw material resources while reducing carbon dioxide emissions and saving land resources.

Four Bottlenecks in Regeneration

The document speaks bluntly about the crux of China's low level of waste textile regeneration: blended materials account for more than 85% of fabrics, and most have undergone printing and dyeing processing, making the separation and decolorization of fibers of different compositions difficult; regenerated products are mainly regenerated short fibers, with a single structure and low added value; enterprises are generally small in scale, with only a few hundred enterprises of a certain scale and tens of thousands of family workshops, making supervision difficult; there is a lack of guidance on the consumer side, and some consumers equate regenerated textiles with low-quality products.

In response to these problems, the "Implementation Opinions" propose expanding the scale of regeneration, promoting regenerated products into fields such as building materials, automotive interiors and exteriors, agriculture, and environmental governance, and allowing waste textiles that cannot be regenerated to be used as fuel in a regulated manner. At the same time, support enterprises in researching and developing high-value-added products, encourage utilization enterprises to connect with recycling enterprises and extend industrial chains, and cultivate leading enterprises with industrial chain leadership through mergers and reorganizations.

Pilot Program for Waste Uniforms First, Industry Moving Toward Clustering

The document takes waste standardized clothing as a priority breakthrough direction. China produces a large amount of waste standardized clothing every year, covering military uniforms, school uniforms, workwear, and various law enforcement uniforms, mainly composed of wool-polyester and cotton-polyester in different ratios, featuring large volume, relatively single raw materials, and concentrated recycling channels, but lacking effective linkage mechanisms and suffering from problems such as single products and unsmooth industrial chains. To this end, the policy clearly selects key areas and key regions, organizes capable enterprises to carry out pilots for recycling waste standardized clothing, and optimizes centralized recycling technology paths and market mechanisms.

For the industry, this means that the field of waste textile regeneration will gradually shift from a scattered small-workshop pattern to clustering, standardization, and specialization, and enterprises with technical equipment and industrial chain integration capabilities will gain greater policy space.

Source: Equal Emphasis on Innovation and Regulation, Accelerating the Construction of a Waste Textile Recycling System — Expert Interpretation No. 2 of the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles" · Originally published on 2022-04-11