This is the fourth in a series of articles providing options for reducing the amount of the most common materials in household waste.
Fabric seems like an oddly specific item to make the list of top waste categories. But textiles are the sixth most common material in the garbage, and the problem is getting significantly worse.
Textile waste is a relatively new problem. Historically, fabrics were expensive, labor-intensive materials that would be reused until almost nothing remained, and even rags were recycled to make new fabric or paper. Modern textile recycling is much less thorough, but innovative new solutions are emerging. We’ve rounded up some good, better, and best options for reducing the textiles your household throws away, including new programs and policies that are transforming the industry.
The Scale of Textile Waste
After paper, food, plastic, yard waste, and metal, textiles make up the largest share of household waste. Most textile waste consists of discarded clothing. But furniture, carpets, bedding, and even footwear and tires contribute to the total. As of 2018, the last year the Environmental Protection Agency published national statistics, textiles comprise 5.8% of municipal solid waste, but just 14.7 percent of the more than 17 million tons of fabric waste was recycled.
The crisis is accelerating. A December 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that textile waste increased by more than 50% between 2000 and 2018, mainly driven by the rise of fast fashion. The Roundup.org reports that the number of times a piece of clothing is typically worn before being discarded has decreased by 50% over the past 15 years.
Globally, the numbers are even more staggering. The world produces 92 million tons of textile waste every year, with between 80 and 100 billion new clothing garments produced annually. The European Union reports that just 20% of discarded textiles are collected for reuse or recycling globally, with just 1% of clothes recycled into new garments.
The environmental impact extends beyond waste volume. Synthetic fibers, which account for over 60% of global textile production, release microplastics during use and disposal, with up to 500,000 tons of microfibers ending up in the ocean every year.
Good: Prevention and Smart Consumption
A good time to start cutting down on textile waste is before you shop. Precycling by being more selective about clothing purchases and only buying what you will wear can reduce the volume of material you wear. Buy the best quality you can afford and choose secondhand when possible.
Learn how to care for your clothes and do basic repairs so your clothes last longer. Don’t assume that just because you no longer want an item of clothing, no one else will. You may be able to resell expensive and fashionable items, but even older and somewhat worn items can be donated to charity. The cliché is true: one person’s old trash is another’s vintage treasure. So, consider helping others reduce their textile waste by organizing a clothing swap.
Consider fashion rental services like Rent the Runway for special occasions, which let you try new styles without the long-term commitment and eventual disposal.
Better: Expanded Recycling and Retailer Programs
Items that are too worn or damaged to donate may still contain enough good fabric to repurpose, and the potential upcycling uses of T-shirts and denim are myriad. However, you may not have the time or resources to make recycled products from worn-out pieces of clothing and fabric scraps. If you’re not a crafter, T-shirts, together with old sheets and towels, are good candidates for use as cleaning rags. These steps can also cut down paper waste.
New Retailer Take-back Programs
Major retailers have expanded their textile recycling programs in recent years, making it easier than ever to dispose of unwanted clothing responsibly.
- H&M accepts any unwanted clothes or textiles from any brand, in any condition, at 4,200+ stores worldwide. The company collected approximately 17,100 tons of textiles in 2024. Best of all, customers receive a 15% discount for each bag donated.
- Madewell’s denim trade-in program accepts any brand of jeans in any condition, working in partnership with thredUP to take other items. You’ll receive a $20 credit toward new Madewell jeans when you donate an old pair.
- Zara Pre-Owned partners with local nonprofits to collect used clothes, linens, shoes, and accessories for textile recycling or reuse.
- Patagonia Worn Wear is a trade-in program offering up to $200 retail credit for gently worn Patagonia outdoor gear and clothing.
- Levi’s SecondHand lets shoppers earn $5-$35 for used Levi’s denim through in-store appointments to review the items you’d like to trade.
- The North Face Renewed is a take-back program that repairs and resells returned items.
Advancing Recycling Technologies
The clothing industry has two approaches to the recycling process, mechanical and chemical.
Mechanical recycling involves physically breaking down textiles into fibers by grinding it for reuse in lower-grade applications like insulation and wiping rags. While this strategy works well for single-fiber materials, it is not well suited to the handling of blended fabrics.
Chemical Recycling is an emerging and controversial approach to breaking down synthetic fibers into molecular components to produce raw materials that can be made into the next generation of textiles. While promising for closed-loop systems, this technology faces challenges including cost, contamination, scalability, and potential environmental trade-offs in many settings.
Consequently, the textiles recycling challenge has attracted new companies with cutting-edge approaches to textile recycling.
SuperCircle has emerged as a leader in textile recycling logistics, recycling over 700,000 garments in 2023 for brands like tentree, Reformation, and Mate the Label. Their technology separates organic and synthetic fabrics, with synthetic textiles recycled into new fiber and organic fibers shredded for insulation and filler.
EVRNU creates circular, recycled cotton fiber called Nucycl from cotton garment waste, producing premium, renewable fibers that are biodegradable and can be engineered for various uses. The company aims to make all textiles recyclable by 2030.
Curbside textile recycling remains rare, but you can search the Earth911 recycling database to find textile recyclers near you.
Footwear and Specialized Items
Shoes present unique challenges because they combine textiles, plastic, and leather. Wear your shoes as long as possible, then find out where to recycle tennis shoes. When you buy new shoes, seek out those made with recycled materials.
Often, the easiest way to deal with bulky items like furniture and mattresses is through producer responsibility programs. As with clothing, buy less, buy less frequently, and when you must buy, get secondhand or recycled products. When purchasing new, look for carpet suppliers and mattress brands that offer take-back programs.
Best: Comprehensive Waste Reduction and Policy Change
Once you’ve stopped adding used clothing to the landfill, turn your attention to household furniture, carpets, mattresses, and other less obvious sources of textile waste. As with clothes, consider whether the life of an item can be extended by deep cleaning or reupholstery before getting rid of it. If you reupholster furniture, be sure to recycle the old fabric.
When you no longer want usable items, donate them rather than disposing of them. Use the Earth911 database to look for donation options, and if the items you have are unusable, recycling options. If disposal is your only option, learn to disassemble items so that the components, including buttons, zippers, and rivets, can be recovered.
Recent Policy Changes
In September 2024, California passed the Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707), the first Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law that addresses textiles in the United States. The legislation requires clothing producers to create a statewide Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) by July 2026 and develop comprehensive stewardship programs by 2030 on the path to reduced textile waste in landfills.
California will establish free, permanent clothing drop-off sites statewide, with industry-funded programs for collection, repair, reuse, and recycling. The law applies to producers selling more than $1 million in products annually in California, with penalties up to $50,000 per day for intentional violations.
Meanwhile, in December 2024, the GAO recommended the development of a national textiles strategy focused on improving recycling technologies, expanding collection systems, and transitioning to a circular economy. Federal agencies like the EPA and the Department of Commerce were beginning to collaborate on textile waste reduction before the inauguration of the second Trump administration, which is not likely to continue funding these efforts.
The Path Forward: Zero Textile Waste
If you are serious about keeping textiles out of the landfill, it is possible to achieve near-zero textile waste. The effort requires a combination of:
- Smart purchasing decisions focused on quality and durability.
- Active participation in retailer take-back programs and local recycling initiatives
- Engaging with innovative recycling companies like SuperCircle and EVRNU through brands that partner with them, including Reformation, 10Tree, Parachute, Subset, Zara, Pangaia, and others.
- Advocating for policy changes like California’s EPR law in your state
- Embracing repair, reuse, and rental models over constant consumption
The textile industry stands at a crossroads. With the GAO calling for a national strategy and California leading the way with producer responsibility legislation, we’re seeing the early stages of a transformation from a linear “take-make-waste” model to a circular economy where textiles are designed for reuse, repair, and recycling.
By making conscious choices about what we buy, how we care for our clothes, and how we dispose of unwanted textiles, each of us can be part of this solution.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on April 27, 2020, and substantially revised and updated in August 2025. Feature image by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash.
