Textile Waste is a Problem of Global Proportions

Consumers trashed enough clothing last year—120 million metric tons, to be exact—to fill over 200 Olympic stadiums.

About 80 percent of discarded textiles were landfilled or incinerated in 2024, with 12 percent reused and less than 1 percent recycled into new fibers, a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found. If left unchecked, the “Spinning Textile Waste into Value” report warns, textile waste could reach over 150 million metric tons a year by 2030.

“The costs of waste are staggering. We’re throwing away billions in value while missing a huge opportunity to make the fashion industry more sustainable and resilient,” said Catharina Martinez-Pardo, co-author of the report and a BCG managing director and partner. “This is the moment to transform textile circularity from niche to norm.”

Environmentally speaking, producing textiles accounts for 92 percent of the industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Disposal exacerbates these emissions. Burning one metric ton of textiles produces emissions equivalent to six round-trip flights between London and New York, while landfilling the same amount generates emissions comparable to eight such flights, per the group’s calculations. If the current pace of textile waste growth (50 percent between 2000 and 2018) continues, U.S. landfills could reach capacity by 2038.

“Open dumping adds another layer of risk,” the report reads, “releasing harmful microplastics into the environment.”

Environmental concerns aside, the economic burden is substantial, too. The global management consulting firm estimated some $150 billion in raw materials value lost annually from unrecovered textile waste.

“Recovering even a quarter of these wasted resources could offset the combined annual materials expenditures of the world’s 30 largest fashion companies,” the report reads. “The environmental and economic case is clear: Reducing textile waste would conserve valuable resources and minimize environmental and social impact.”

While recovering the full $150 billion in value is unlikely, per BCG, as all raw material waste cannot be realistically captured due to persistent barriers like inadequate recycling infrastructure systems and inefficient sorting processes. And, while the industry aims for system-wide improvements to boost the recycling rate to more than 30 percent—which could yield over $50 billion in new fiber value and create some 180,000 new jobs—it’s still but a fraction of the estimated annual loss.  

That said, there are still “substantially untapped potentials.”

“The path toward a circular textile economy is in sight, but it requires decisive action across the entire value chain,” the report reads. “Industry players must boost demand for recycled fibers, streamline textile waste collection, upgrade sorting infrastructure, expand proven recycling methods and invest in cutting-edge recycling technologies.”

To meet the increasing demand for recycled fibers, BCG deems it essential to scale existing and new waste collection systems. Modernizing sorting, too, is critical for handling the larger volumes needed for textile-to-textile recycling. Current methods rely heavily on manual labor, though deemed inefficient for recycling purposes, given the struggle to effectively categorize textiles or remove disruptors.

“Many consumers remain unclear about proper disposal methods for their garments, resulting in mixed and contaminated waste streams that are challenging to sort effectively,” the report reads. “As a result, only about 7 percent of all textile waste is available as feedstock for textile-to-textile recycling.”

Enter advanced technologies. Efforts like near-infrared spectroscopy, artificial intelligence and robotics can boost speed, throughput and precision—enabling sorters to move faster and better. And if collection and sorting processes are optimized, recycling methods need an equally effective upgrade.  

As it stands, recycling is the least-developed stage in the textile value chain, BCG reported. Scaling up textile recycling requires massive gains in technology, infrastructure and operational efforts. And “strategic decisions” regarding where—and how—recycling networks are developed. Not to mention, these recycling technologies will “need to tolerate” a broader range of feedstock, per the group, to accommodate the diverse needs of sorters and collectors, among other stakeholders.

“Upgrading to a high-functioning circular ecosystem [to] today’s textile waste challenges won’t be possible without additional across-the-board investment in innovation,” the report reads, highlighting that financiers have (collectively) invested over $250 million into efforts like Syre and Infinited Fiber. “Yet, despite these promising early steps, the textile recycling industry hasn’t attracted enough funding to scale operations to the capital-intensive, industrial levels needed.”

The solution? Teamwork.

“By coordinating targeted efforts, strategic investments and stronger public-private collaboration, stakeholders can move circularity from aspiration to reality,” the report reads. “Just as critically, a circular textile economy will deliver meaningful, long-term benefits for both the environment and society.”