Textile recycling: How does it work?

Textile recycling refers to the process by which worn textiles or manufacturing waste are transformed to create new raw materials that will be used in new products. 

Recycling practices cannot be overlooked by the textile industry, given that this sector's environmental impact is often heavy. Reducing textile waste and improving textiles' life cycle therefore become imperative.

The term encompasses a variety of transformation methods/ technologies where after having been sorted and/or dismantled, the textile waste is either shredded (mechanical recycling), combusted (thermal recovery) or depolymerised (chemical recycling) to produce recycled fibres or polymers used to manufacture yarns that will be used in textile structures (for example, knitwear, fabric, etc...,) and assembled to bring to life a finished product.

By transforming this waste into new fibres or polymers, then new yarns, then new fabrics, and finally into new end products, recycling contributes not only to reducing waste (by reusing what is destined to start with by becoming waste) but also by supporting a where we avoid the use of new natural resources.

In short, instead of extracting new raw materials to produce something and then disposing of the old clothes in a landfill, we use the already extracted resources, which we breathe new life into. The textiles of today are the raw materials of tomorrow.

The raw materials used come directly from textile factories in the form of scraps of fabric cuttings and yarns or faulty materials not yet transformed into the finished article.
These raw materials are generally not blended, making their traceability transparent and their composition homogenous. They can be reinserted directly into a new manufacturing process without the need for complex sorting processes.

Closed-loop recycling ""involves reusing the recycled material to produce something identical or similar to its original use. or example, new bottles created from recycled plastic bottles or recycled clothes to make new textile yarns used to manufacture clothes. This method is often wanted in a circular economy because it reduces the need for raw materials and aims to minimise waste by keeping materials in the initial production cycle.

"Open-loop recycling" relies on several inputs, managed either by DECATHLON or externally (suppliers and partners).
This recycling loop involves reusing the material to manufacture a product different from its initial use. The material is transformed and can be used for other applications. Polyester clothes, for example, can be recycled to produce padding for car seats, or PET plastic bottles can be recycled into yarns to manufacture clothes. In this case, the material exits the original cycle of use, integrating another one, which can nevertheless reduce demand for new materials in many industries.

DECATHLON is actively committed to reducing the environmental impact of its product range through several initiatives:

- Eco-design: we integrate environmental criteria as early as the design phase by choosing the least polluting materials and optimising the manufacturing processes. In 2023, 38.8 % of DECATHLON sales originated from products benefiting from our eco-design approach.


- Use of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled materials: we prefer to use recycled materials from post-consumer waste, reducing the dependency on virgin resources and decreasing the associated CO₂ emissions.


- Durability and repairability: we design durable products that are easily repairable, prolonging their life span and reducing waste. Spare parts and repair guides are made available to encourage maintenance and repair of articles.