On April 11, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles (Fa Gai Huan Zi [2022] No. 526), setting clear targets: by 2025, the recycling rate of waste textiles should reach 25% and regenerated fiber output should reach 2 million tons; by 2030, the recycling rate should rise to 30% and regenerated fiber output should reach 3 million tons. The document proposes using used military uniforms, police uniforms, school uniforms, and other standardized garments as a breakthrough point, and for the first time systematically deploys the standardization of used clothing exports, the extension of recycling networks to lower tiers, and the cultivation of the regeneration industry.

Key Points

  • Targets: 25% recycling rate and 2 million tons of regenerated fiber by 2025; 30% and 3 million tons respectively by 2030.
  • Breakthrough focus: Use used military uniforms, police uniforms, school uniforms, and other standardized garments as a breakthrough for recycling, and organize enterprises to carry out pilots.
  • Used clothing exports: Export enterprises are required to truthfully declare to customs in accordance with the law, and cleaning and disinfection must meet the requirements of importing countries (regions).

A Major Textile Country Confronts the Waste Textile Challenge

China accounts for more than half of the world's total textile fiber processing volume. As per capita fiber consumption continues to grow, the amount of waste textiles generated has risen year by year. The three departments noted in the document that recycling waste textiles is of direct significance for saving resources and reducing pollution and carbon emissions, and is also an important means of supplementing raw material supply for the textile industry and alleviating resource and environmental constraints. Around this goal, the document proposes removing bottlenecks in four key links: collection, trading and circulation, fine sorting, and comprehensive utilization, and establishes working principles that combine government guidance with market operation and systematic advancement with breakthroughs in key areas.

Two-Stage Quantitative Targets Set

The document sets a clear timetable. By 2025, a preliminary waste textile recycling system should be established, recycling capacity should be greatly improved, the recycling rate should reach 25%, and regenerated fiber output should reach 2 million tons. By 2030, a relatively complete recycling system should be built, high-value utilization pathways should continue to expand, the recycling rate should reach 30%, and regenerated fiber output should reach 3 million tons.

Green Design Intervenes from the Source

On the production side, the document encourages textile enterprises to implement green design and improve the ease of disassembly, classification, and recycling of textiles. Specific measures include formulating guidelines for textile material classification and encouraging manufacturers to attach visual labels or machine-readable RFID tags containing fabric material information to textiles, so as to improve the efficiency and accuracy of subsequent sorting. At the same time, the document guides textile enterprises to prioritize green fiber raw materials, specifically requiring brand enterprises to increase the proportion of regenerated fiber substitution, and to advance the research, development, production, and application of bio-based fibers in an orderly manner. In addition, enterprises are encouraged to implement the China Social Compliance 9000 for Textile & Apparel Industry (CSC9000T), study waste textile recycling targets and roadmaps, and explore market mechanisms for the ecological value of regenerated textiles.

Recycling Networks Extend to Communities and Rural Areas

In terms of building the recycling system, the document requires the reasonable placement of dedicated waste textile recycling bins or related facilities, breaking down barriers to placing recycling bins in communities, government agencies, shopping malls, and campuses. It also encourages recycling enterprises to expand into third- and fourth-tier cities and below, and to explore rural waste textile recycling in light of local conditions. The document also proposes actively developing Internet Plus recycling, promoting online-offline integration, and exploring new recycling models such as bag-based door-to-door collection and campus collection during graduation season. In the sorting stage, it requires reasonable layout of sorting centers and resource utilization classification and processing centers in conjunction with the construction of the waste materials recycling system. At the management level, it calls for cracking down on illegal and non-compliant recycling activities, handling illegal landfill and incineration of waste textiles in accordance with the law, and transferring suspected criminal cases to public security organs.

Used Clothing Trading and Exports Brought onto a Standardized Track

In the comprehensive utilization section, the document clearly states that used clothing trading should be promoted in an orderly manner according to the principles of economic conservation and green low-carbon development, and that standards and technical specifications for the cleaning and disinfection of used clothing should be formulated and revised, with improved health and epidemic prevention requirements and market trading management rules. Regarding used clothing exports, the document requires guiding export standardization; export enterprises must truthfully declare to customs in accordance with the law and ensure that cleaning, disinfection, and other processes meet the relevant requirements of importing countries (regions). The document also encourages enterprises and residents to donate suitable used clothing through charitable organizations in accordance with the law. In terms of regeneration and utilization, it promotes the entry of regenerated products into fields such as building materials, automotive interiors and exteriors, agriculture, and environmental governance. For waste textiles that cannot be regenerated, it encourages standardized fuel utilization and supports enterprises in cultivating leading enterprises in the industrial chain through mergers and acquisitions.

Standardized Garments Take the Lead in Pilots

The document lists used military uniforms, police uniforms, school uniforms, and other standardized garments as a breakthrough point for recycling. It proposes promoting green design and the use of green fibers, selecting key fields and key regions to organize capable enterprises to carry out pilots, and optimizing technical pathways and market mechanisms for centralized recycling, so as to improve the recycling rate of uniforms for departments with unified dress codes, industry uniforms and workwear, and school uniforms.

Supporting Standards, Technology, and Funding

To ensure implementation, the document proposes improving a series of standards for the collection, disinfection, sorting, and comprehensive utilization of waste textiles, revising the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Fiber Product Quality, the Code of Conduct for the Quality of Reprocessed Fibers, and the General Technical Requirements for Wadding Fiber Products, and promoting the implementation of the Normative Conditions for the Recycled Chemical Fiber (Polyester) Industry. At the technical level, key technologies for waste textile recycling will be included in the National Key R&D Program, with a focus on breakthroughs in fiber identification, efficient sorting, separation of blended materials, and regeneration technologies and equipment. In terms of policy support, resource comprehensive utilization tax incentives will be implemented, credit products and services will be provided under the premise of legal compliance and controllable risks, qualified enterprises will be supported in issuing green bonds, and localities with the capacity to do so will be encouraged to provide financial support.

Significance for the Industry

This is China's first special implementation opinion that systematically deploys waste textile recycling at the national level, marking the formal inclusion of used clothing collection, sorting, reuse, and export links into the policy framework of a resource-recycling industrial system. For enterprises engaged in used clothing export trade and regenerated fiber production, the document not only sets compliance red lines such as cleaning and disinfection and customs declaration, but also opens up policy space in areas such as extending recycling networks to lower tiers, green bond financing, and standardized garment pilots. The industry will accelerate its transformation from fragmented operations toward scale and standardization.

Source: Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles (Fa Gai Huan Zi [2022] No. 526) · Originally published on 2022-04-11