Textile recycling market to hit $11.94B by 2032

By AI, Created 5:08 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – The textile recycling market is projected to grow from $7.79 billion in 2025 to $11.94 billion by 2032 as EU rules, brand commitments and circular fashion demand push more clothing back into the supply chain. Major deals from H&M, Patagonia and Eastman show the sector shifting from a niche sustainability play to a manufacturing and procurement priority.

Why it matters: - Textile waste is becoming a strategic raw material stream for fashion brands and recyclers. - The market’s growth reflects tighter regulation, higher ESG pressure and stronger demand for recycled fibers. - The secondhand apparel market, already valued at $227 billion in 2025, is expanding the commercial case for reuse and recycling.

What happened: - Maximize Market Research said the global textile recycling market was valued at $7.79 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach $11.94 billion by 2032. - The firm projected a 6.3% compound annual growth rate through 2032. - The report tied that growth to sustainability goals, circular fashion adoption and demand for eco-friendly fabric reuse solutions.

The details: - The European Union’s Extended Producer Responsibility framework is driving textile collection-system investment across all 27 member states. - Textile Exchange’s Recycled Polyester Challenge has support from brands including H&M, Nike, Gap and Levi Strauss. - Renewcell’s bankruptcy showed the commercial risk in the sector, even for companies with advanced recycling technology and a $130 million production facility. - Blended polyester-cotton textiles remain difficult to recycle at scale. - Chemical recycling still needs heavy capital investment and long-term off-take agreements to be commercially viable. - Recycled polyester held about 45% of the market. - Chemical recycling is the fastest-growing segment because it can process blended fibers into premium-quality outputs. - Post-consumer textile waste is the largest feedstock source. - Europe leads global recycling infrastructure and recovery rates under EU collection frameworks.

Between the lines: - H&M’s $600 million Syre off-take deal signals that textile-to-textile recycling is moving into commercial scale. - Patagonia and Eastman’s February 2024 partnership to chemically recycle 8,000 pounds of garments showed that molecular recycling can work beyond pilot projects. - The University of Delaware’s microwave-assisted glycolysis research points to better ways to separate blended fibers. - EU digital product passport rules could make garment traceability and closed-loop recycling easier to scale. - The market is splitting between mature resale channels and more capital-intensive chemical recycling bets.

What’s next: - Syre is targeting 3 million metric tonnes of annual recycled polyester production by 2032, backed by TPG Rise and Volvo. - Eastman’s Tennessee molecular recycling facility reached 110,000 metric tonnes of annual capacity. - H&M’s Rewear marketplace listed 2 million second-hand items within six months. - Circ plans to scale from a 60,000 metric-tonne chemical recycling facility to 300,000 tonnes by 2030. - Infinited Fiber raised $44 million from H&M and Inditex’s parent company to scale its Infinna cotton fiber recycling process. - Europe is likely to remain the regulatory center of gravity, while Asia Pacific is positioned for the fastest growth on manufacturing scale.

The bottom line: - Textile recycling is shifting from a sustainability theme to a supply-chain requirement, with policy, procurement and technology now moving in the same direction.