Textile Recycling Technologies, Colouring and Finishing Methods

2.3 Textile Recycling Processes 
Textile recycling processes have long existed, but have been greatly influenced by factors such as 
high prices, volume, and availability of virgin raw materials, which have limited the ability to be 
integrated as established and economically viable operations.
6
Processes such as re-spinning of 
post-industrial and post-consumer materials, pulping of cotton and linen, and non-woven material 
production have existed for centuries, with variations of such operations currently practiced.
6
 
In recent times, there has been great interest in increasing the reuse and recycling of textiles, 
notably further developing textile recycling processes, because of an increased awareness of the 
impacts of the existing linear supply chain of the apparel industry. Reuse refers to the utilization 
of product in its original form, and recycling refers to the conversion of waste into product.
21
Recovery of materials and energy, specifically through the application of recycling technologies 
offer potential for greater value creation within the textiles economy, and would greatly contribute 
to the vision of a circular economy model proposed by the Ellen McArthur Foundation –a 
restorative, regenerative, and distributive system by design, in which value is circulated among 
stakeholders, from producers to consumers in the system. 
Four categories of recycling technologies exist and include, primary, secondary, and quaternary 
approaches, summarized as follows:
21,22
Primary: recycling material in its original form for recovery of equal value 
Secondary: processing post-consumer product usually by mechanical means into product with 
different physical and/or chemical properties (mechanical recycling) 
Tertiary: processes such as pyrolysis and hydrolysis, in which waste is converted to basic chemical 
constituents, monomers, or fuels (chemical recycling) 
Quaternary (recovery): waste-to-energy conversion processes such as incineration of solid waste, 
or utilization of heat generated 
ii
Specific to textile materials recovery, common processes include mechanical and chemical 
methods. Table 1 summarizes typical process inputs and outputs of the recycling types. 
Table 1: Mechanical and Chemical Recycling of Textiles. 
Modified and reproduced from [11].
ii
Note: For the purposes of this report, incineration with energy recovery has been termed a quaternary form of 
recycling. However, this report acknowledges that according to the internationally-recognized 5Rs Waste 
Hierarchy, it is a form of recovery, not recycling.
Downcycling
High Value Recycling
High Value Recycling
Plant Based
Plant Based
Animal Based
Petroleum Based
Petroleum Based