Kicking carbon out of textile decolourisation – part II

To address the serious environmental issue of pollution from end-of-life waste, the textile industry is experimenting with multiple new (and old) end-of-life pathways for garments; there is now significant activity across second-hand resale, upcycling, mechanical recycling and chemical recycling. The primary aim is to replace land-fill, dumping and incineration which is where most textiles end-up today.

The climate impact of the current situation is hard to quantify; it is unknown how much methane is released from textiles that end in landfill, but it is known that fibres, dyes and persistent chemicals such as PFAS from textiles are entering the environment at large scale with the potential to damage nature and affect human health.