Introduction 2

Textile recycling in the EU 5

  Policy developments 5

  Technological developments 9

  Recycling pilots and initiatives 12

Literature review of the barriers and enablers of textile circularity 15

  Barriers to textile circularity 15

  Enablers of textile circularity 22

Methodology 27

Empirical results 30

  Barriers to textile circularity 30

    Technological barriers 30

    Financial barriers 31

    Policy and regulatory barriers 32

    Supply chain barriers 33

    Behavioural and cultural barriers 33

    Organisational barriers 34

    Societal barriers 35

  Enablers of textile circularity 35

    Technological enablers 35

    Financial and economic enablers 36

    Policy and regulatory enablers 36

    Supply chain enablers 37

    Behavioural and cultural enablers 38

    Organisational enablers 38

    Societal enablers 39

Conclusions and policy recommendations 41

  Recommendation 1: Support demand-side measures that create a business case for textile recycling 42

  Recommendation 2: Continue funding research and innovation for textile sorting and recycling technologies 42

  Recommendation 3: Strengthen collaboration across the textile value chain 42

References 43