Australia Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029

The history of Australia's textile recycling market can be said to have taken a dramatic turn, driven by shifting consumer attitudes, environmental concerns, and industry practices. Prior to the 1990s, textile recycling was primarily informal, done by charitable organizations and second-hand shops that gathered used clothing and textiles to sell. This was mostly based on philanthropic work and not based on any organized programs of recycling, very few were aware of the opportunity for reduction in textile wastes. The 1990s really made a difference as awareness of waste management and environmental sustainability began to be realized. Several organizations were established that majorly advocated the recycling and reusing of textiles. With time, the initiatives became more structured. The Australian government, at that particular time, appreciated the essence of waste reduction. A couple of programs aimed at increasing the textile recycling rate were therefore initiated. Early 2000s marked a turning point when professional textile recycling companies started working on improving collection, sorting, and recycling. Only in recent years has the circular economy movement really come to the fore, with its emphasis on keeping resources in use for as long as possible. Increasingly, more brands and retailers started embracing circularity, offering take-back programs, and partnering with organizations that recycle thereby further locking textile recycling into their business models. In the past few years in particular, in 2020 Australia's textile recycling market has developed at a very fast pace, mostly through consumer demand for sustainable products and government measures for reducing the generation of waste. With a view to further promote textile recycling and landfill reduction, the National Waste Policy Action Plan supports those innovative technologies for recycling including chemical recycling. The phenomenal growth in the rate of textiles waste has been driven largely by the ‘fast fashion’ phenomenon, in which massive amounts of poorly made, cheaply priced clothes are quickly manufactured and constantly released onto the market. Much of this ‘fast fashion’ is made from synthetic, petroleum-based fibres. Over half of clothing sold in Australia is made from polyester (PET, which is derived from petroleum), and a further more than 10% is made from other synthetic (i.e. plastic) fibres.

According to the research report "Australia Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029," published by Bonafide Research, the Australia textile recycling market is anticipated to grow at more than 6 % CAGR from 2024 to 2029. Various factors are driving the textile recycling market in Australia. One of them is consumer awareness and demand for sustainable ways of doing things. This appears to be driving the push for improved solutions on issues related to recycling. In addition, regulatory pressures and government policies bear a huge impact, especially with initiatives like the National Waste Policy, which aims to encourage increased rates of recycling and reduced landfill waste. Those complex issues include the heterogeneous nature of textile wastes, the high cost of advanced recycling technologies, and the need for better collection and sorting systems. In rising to these challenges, Australia is making full use of the available resources through investment in research and development, forging industry partnerships among stakeholders, and catch-all strategies in waste management. The Australian government has been very supportive in terms of funding programs and policy frameworks that aim to spur innovation and develop infrastructure for textile recycling. With the takeover of technology and sustainable methods, the Australian textile recycling market will grow too. Improved technologies for recycling, better collection systems, and enhanced collaboration from both the public and private sectors are all contributing factors to the growth in this market. With a strong commitment to sustainability and resource efficiency, the textile recycling industry in Australia stands entirely prepared to contribute towards least wastage and effective principles of the circular economy, leveraging its resources and capabilities. Recent developments in Australia's textile recycling market feature a dynamic shifting towards much more advanced and sustainable approaches. There is growing interest from the industry in developing recycling technologies and increasing capacity so that more infrastructures can handle larger volumes of textile waste.

The main category within the Australian textile recycling market is cotton, which mostly relates to the significant use of cotton within the country's textile industry, including its properties, which enable effective recycling. It has been reported that cotton is the top natural fibre used in clothes and textiles, therefore a large amount of cotton-based products can be found in circulation, and their life cycle can be subjected to recycling. The presence of the natural constitution of the material makes it proper for the cotton material to be relatively easily recyclable to other cotton-based products. This great amount and ease of recycling thus place cotton at the top of the list. Within the Australian textile recycling sector, growing sub-groupings are represented by polyester and polyester fiber. The increase in the popularity of polyester, a durable, low-cost, and multi-use fiber, has been one of the recent drivers with intensive focus on ways of recycling for this synthetic fiber. The aforementioned continues to drive the recycling of polyester textiles due to the technological advances in recycling, which have reflected rising efficiency and efficacy. Concerns about the environment and pressure from regulations lead to an increased number of initiatives being taken to recycle polyester. Nylon and nylon fiber are indeed present in the textile recycling landscape, but they are much less prominent there than cotton and polyester. The complex chemical structure of nylon makes it difficult for most recycling methods to process it, so the material is less commonly found in the streams of recyclables compared to cotton and polyester. Wool's share in the recycling market is relatively minor, although it is both valuable and biodegradable. The share of wool in the recycling market is smaller than other fibers because wool is less available in recycled products, and wool recycling is more expensive.

Amongst the several sources of waste, apparel waste is projected to hold a larger share of the Australian textile recycling market, owing to large volumes of clothing disposed of and a greater recyclability factor. Apparel represents the biggest share of textile waste, both in terms of production volume and the quantumity discarded annually. Clothing items that form a large part of household textile wastes are easier to recycle into new garments or other textile products due to established processes and infrastructure for their recycling. This, coupled with the high volume, results in the domination of the market by apparel wastes. Home furnishing wastes present the growing segment in Australia's textile recycling industry. This growth is fanned by growing consumer awareness and initiatives for sustainability in terms of textiles used within a home, such as curtains, upholstery, and bedding. With most households and businesses trying to inculcate an eco-friendly way of life, the recycling of home furnishing textiles also picked up quite a momentum. Advancements in recycling technologies and better collection systems for these items also support their growing presence in the market. Automotive wastes, in the form of seat covers, carpets, and other textile components from vehicles, make up a smaller but important share of the recycling market. Since automotive textiles are very complex, additional specialized processes need to be employed for the recycling of such, thereby diminishing its size compared with apparel and home furnishing wastes. The "Others" segment includes all other sources of textile waste not classified under apparel, home furnishings, or automotive sectors. It comprises industrial textiles, medical textiles, and other niche applications.

The leading and growing segment in the Australian textile recycling market is post-consumer textile waste. This is because of the large volume of clothing and household textiles that get dumped in landfills every year. Examples of post-consumer textiles include worn-out clothes, bedding, and other textiles a consumer discards. This prominence is said to be the result of the staggering amount of wastes from the consumer market, in addition to an increased commitment to maintaining these wastes out of landfills through recycling. As awareness of environmental issues and sustainability heightens, there is a concerted effort toward improving current recycling systems and processes for post-consumer textiles. The initiatives taken by the government and private sectors in enhancing collection, sorting, and recycling capacities support the role of this segment as leading and expanding. Pre-consumer textile waste consists of scraps and off-cuts produced during the manufacturing process before products reach consumers. This is the smaller portion in the Australian textile recycling market. Pre-consumer waste, though considerable, does not hold a major role compared to post-consumer waste. This includes all the textiles discarded at the time of production, such as remnants of fabric during garment manufacture. Although pre-consumer waste is generally much easier to recycle because of the nature of the control and quality, it is lesser in comparison with the huge volume of post-consumer waste. There are efforts towards the recycling of pre-consumer textile wastes, but the bigger challenge and focus remain with the more substantial post-consumer waste stream.



Mechanical recycling dominates the Australian textile recycling market because of its prominence and more extensive application. This form of recycling entails the physical breakdown of the textiles into fibers, involving processes such as shredding, carding, and re-spinning. The nature of this process is very simple and inexpensive, especially in the recycling of natural fibers and some synthetic fibers, particularly cotton. This source of recycling has widely been adopted because the technology is relatively easy, and the infrastructure is already in place, allowing the volumes of textile waste to be huge. Dominating in the Australian market was the efficient processing as well as the suitability of mechanical recycling for post-consumer textile waste recycling. The chemical recycling has been the growing segment of the textile recycling industry in Australia. This is one of the ways to help get past mechanical synthetic fiber limitations for recycling such synthetic synthetic fibers as polyester and nylon. Chemical recycling means the decomposition of textiles at a molecular level using chemicals that will help recover and reutilize complex and mechanically less-amenable fibers. In a scenario of ever more complex materials to be recycled and enhanced technology, the viability of chemical recycling is growing, and it will further increase. Its ability to process a wider range of textile types and achieve higher purity in the recycled fibers places it in an expanding market role.

Considered in this report
• Historic year: 2018
• Base year: 2023
• Estimated year: 2024
• Forecast year: 2029

Aspects covered in this report
• Textile Recycling market Outlook with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Material
• Cotton
• Polyester & Polyester Fiber
• Nylon & Nylon Fiber
• Wool
• Others

By Source
• Apparel Waste
• Home Furnishing Waste
• Automotive Waste
• Others

By End-Use Industry
• Apparel
• Home Furnishings
• Industrial & Institutional
• Others

By Textile Waste
• Post-consumer
• Pre-consumer

By Process
• Mechanical
• Chemicals

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary and secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list the companies that are present in it. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources, primary research was conducted by conducting telephone interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this; we have started making primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting them in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us, we can start verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations, and organizations related to the Textile Recycling industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing and presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.