In discussions around circular fashion, textile-to-textile recycling is undoubtedly one of the hottest topics, with much of this attention driven by the commercialization of chemical recycling. But a new report points out that while the sector is scaling up, actual progress still lags noticeably behind the hype.

The report also notes that although recycling is seen as a core part of achieving a closed loop in the textile industry, there are growing warnings within the industry about the difficulty of building the relevant infrastructure and getting brands to genuinely participate.

Judging from the keyword tags attached to the original article, the companies and organizations involved in this discussion include biochemical recycling company Carbios, circular textile materials company Circulose, industry organization Fashion For Good, and Reju, among others, covering topics such as circular fashion, circularity, EPR (extended producer responsibility), life cycle assessment (LCA), and recycling.

For the used clothing and textile recycling industry, this assessment means that the pace of bringing chemical recycling capacity online will remain difficult to align with market expectations in the short term, and infrastructure investment across the supply chain, along with brands' actual purchasing commitments, will determine how fast the textile loop can move.

Source: Textile-to-textile recycling is scaling, but not at the level of its hype – new report finds · Originally published 2026-09-10