Relying solely on mono-material textiles will not generate enough high-quality recycled content to achieve a closed-loop system. To meet circularity targets, multi-material textile products must also be recycled—but doing so requires efficient disassembly and sorting.

Current disassembly methods yield only ~50%, creating financial and material losses that make recycled textiles less competitive. At this efficiency, the process can result in losses of up to €0.15 per garment.

Design-for-Disassembly technologies, like Resortecs®, significantly improve preprocessing efficiency—up to 4.6x for complex textiles—resulting in a 3.3x yield increase across all textile categories and turning the cost into a €0.13 profit per garment.

To unlock circularity at scale, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation must mandate design-for-disassembly alongside recycled content targets. Only then can we ensure higher material recovery rates and economic viability for textile recycling.

Context

The European Union is advancing its sustainability agenda through the revised Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) package, which came into effect on July 17th 2024. This comprehensive

package includes the Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and the Digital Product Passport (DPP) directive. These measures aim to enhance traceability and sustainability within the textile industry.

Reflecting these EU-wide ambitions, the Netherlands has set a target for 33% of new textiles to be derived from fiber-to-fiber recycling by 2030. It is realistic to assume that similar targets will be mirrored across

the EU.

-The revised Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation package, effective from July 17th 2024, includes a Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and a Digital Product Passport directive.

-The Netherlands aims for 33% of new textiles to be made from fiber-to-fiber recycling by 2030, a target likely to be adopted across the EU.

Problem

To meet these ambitious targets, the textile recycling sector faces significant challenges. Currently, mono-material products, which are easier to recycle, contribute only 4-5% of the recycled material feeds-

tock available for recycling. Meanwhile, multi-material products, which represent a substantial 78% of textile waste, suffer from substantial material losses during the mandatory disassembly step. Current

disassembly processes result in a 50-60% loss of material, making recycling of the majority of textile products economically unviable.

-There is a limited availability of high-quality recycled feedstock to achieve EU targets. Even though mono-material products are directly recyclable, they contribute only 4-5% of recycled material feedstock.

-Multi-material products represent 78% of textile waste but the presence of components like zippers and buttons, disrupt the recycling process.

Mono-material alone will not suffice to provide the amount of high quality fabric-to-fabric recycled material necessary to close the loop and comply with the EU’s ESPR policy. Recycling more complex

multi-material textile products is necessary. Although it requires disassembly and sorting.

-Current disassembly processes lead to a loss of 50-60%7 of material making recycling unprofitable. Rather than repurposed for high intrinsic value like textile-to-textile recycling, the 50-60% material loss is downcycled and/or incinerated.

To address these challenges, adopting design-for-disassembly is proposed as a solution. By designing textile products with disassembly in mind, preprocessing efficiency of multi-material products can be in-

creased by up to 4.6X, resulting in an overall 3.3X yield increase across all textile products (i.e. mono- and multi-material textile products). As a result, fabric-to-fabric recycling could become cost effective, potentially generating up to €0.138 profit per garment. Furthermore, this increase of efficiency could also allow to meet up to 31% of the EU’s textile demand from recycled material, to significantly reduce reliance

on virgin materials and to promote a circular economy. With current disassembly yields averaging 50%, the competitiveness of recycled materials is jeopardised. The process inefficiencies create a financial burden that no stakeholder can sustain: a disassembly process that wastes 50% of its input translates into losses of up to 0.15€ per garment.

Design-for-Disassembly technologies (such as Resortecs®) allows to increase preprocessing efficiency of multi-material products up to 4.6x. This results in an overall 3.3x yield increase across all textile products or

a 0.13€ profit per garment preprocessed.

Design-for-disassembly can increase preprocessing efficiency of multi-material products by up to 4.6X, resulting in an overall 3.3X yield increase across all textile products (i.e. mono- and

multi-material textile products).

This can make recycling profitable, generating up to €0.1310 profit per garment. It can provide up to 31%11 of the textile demand in the EU from recycled material.

By improving the efficiency and profitability of textile recycling through higher yield in disassembly, the EU can significantly increase the proportion of recycled materials in new textiles and drive substantial progress towards a more sustainable future while ensuring its industry’s competitiveness. The revised Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), along with national targets, provides a robust framework for enhancing the sustainability and circularity of the textile industry. Overcoming the current recycling challenges through the implementation of design-for-disassembly will be crucial in meeting

these ambitious goals.

The Ecodesign Regulation must incorporate design-for-disassembly requirements. Next to recycled content targets, securing higher material recovery rates is essential to develop a positive business case

for textile stakeholders and ensure a successful circular transition in the industry.