Textile-to-textile recycling is one of the most hyped topics in circular fashion right now, largely driven by the commercialization of chemical recycling currently underway. 

Although recycling can provide one of the core building blocks for closing the loop in the industry, industry professionals are raising the alarm on how difficult it is to build the infrastructure and get brands on board.

According to the European industry alliance ReHubs, building textile-to-textile recycling infrastructure in Europe requires €8-11B in one-off investment and €5-6.5B in recurring annual costs. Right now, funding for the industry is dragging, mostly because of a lack of clear incentives: using recycled fibers still carries a price premium, which hinders brand adoption and partnerships. And when brands don’t commit to future purchasing agreements, innovators struggle to secure funding, build commercial factories, and enable the wider infrastructure needed for feedstock collection and sorting to form.

The industry is currently betting heavily on regulatory support, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), as well as other incentives like requirements for using recycled content in textile products. The regulatory landscape is advancing, with one of the most significant developments in H1 being California’s textile EPR law advancing to the next stage of implementation. Still, the industry keeps voicing the need for more ambition, as current planned EPR fees, for example, fall short of the modelled needs.

Amidst all these contradictions, the global textile recycling market is projected to grow at a 5.9% CAGR through 2031, according to Valuates Reports. This H1/2026 report gives you an overview of the state of the industry currently and highlights the developments that have taken place in the sector during the first half of 2026.

What’s in this report?

 

At its core, this report curates industry data and connects the dots between events, aiming to give a clearer picture of the industry for you. The report is divided into three main sections:

1. Commercialization of textile-to-textile recycling: Highlights of recent funding rounds for innovations, published plans for commercial factories, and partnerships tied between recycling innovators and fashion brands/material manufacturers.

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3. Innovation in textile-to-textile recycling: In-depth look at new ventures and products, as well as research and industry projects that have been published during the first half of 2026.

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5. The barriers and enablers for T2T recycling: Highlights the current biggest barriers to scaling textile-to-textile recycling (and industry projects aiming to break these barriers), recaps developments in the regulatory space, and looks at the information we have on the environmental and social impact of textile recycling.