Canada Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029

Canada Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029

Canada's textile recycling market underwent several changes from year to year due to growing environmental concerns and altered consumer perceptions. In the late 20th century, the budding environment movement became concerned with the problem of textile waste, and subsequent to that, during the 1990s, many non-profits began actively taking interest in reusing and recycling issues. Dress for Success and the Salvation Army being just two examples. The early 2000s saw the government implementing programs on waste reduction and a number of policies concerning EPR for manufacturers. The 2010s have really been a time for cleanup, with both the public and private sectors having launched Ontario's Textile Waste Diversion Program with added investment in textile recycling technologies. Recently, the focus turns to a circular economy with heightened calls for a national strategy on textiles underscoring sustainable practices and strengthening recycling infrastructure. While the market is increasing today, innovating in recycling processes, and raising public awareness of the role of sustainable fashion in the area of clothing, it still faces challenges to collection systems, as well as increasing recycling rates. The envisioned waste management approach greatly relies on this very interest and engagement from key stakeholders in keeping textiles within the circular economy for as long as possible. This strategy places emphasis on redesign, reduction, reusing, repairing, and recycling above energy recovery and landfilling. The government approach emphasizes opening up to a more circular and sustainable economy in Canada. The University of Waterloo says that Canadians throw out almost 500 million kilograms of fabric items a year, things like clothing and shoes and toys. The Canadian government, since 2018, collaborated with organizations and other stakeholders to research microfiber pollution, identify challenges and opportunities and pilot recycling and waste diversion programs in the textile sector.

According to the research report ""Canada Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029,"" published by Bonafide Research, the Canada textile recycling market is anticipated to grow at more than 4% CAGR from 2024 to 2029. The Canada Textile Recycling Market has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, driven by changing consumer attitudes and increased corporate social responsibility. As consumers become more conscious of the environmental implications of their purchases, they are seeking sustainable alternatives. This shift in consumer behavior has prompted businesses to adopt eco-friendly practices and invest in recycling technologies. In Canada, innovations in recycling technologies are revolutionizing the industry. Mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and upcycling techniques are being developed to transform old textiles into new fabrics or products. These technologies enable the industry to extract value from waste while minimizing the use of resources. Increasing environmental awareness among consumers has led to a greater demand for sustainable practices, pushing both businesses and individuals to consider the lifecycle of their clothing. This shift in consumer behavior is encouraging brands to adopt circular economy principles, which emphasize the importance of recycling and repurposing textiles. Canadians have been mechanically recycling textiles for years, into wipers, rags and insulation. While there are promising advanced recycling technologies that are making their way to the market, opening opportunities for fibre-to-fibre recycling and other manufacturing possibilities, these technologies will require a few more years until they are scaled and widely adopted. Technological advancements are also contributing significantly to the growth of this market. Innovations in recycling processes, such as automated sorting technologies and chemical recycling methods, are improving the efficiency of textile recovery and enabling the recycling of a wider variety of fabrics. Companies are investing in research and development to create better systems for sorting, processing, and reusing textile waste, which is vital for increasing recycling rates.

Apparel waste leads the Canadian textile recycling market. High turnovers of fashion items and a large amount of clothing discarded make apparel wastes form a large portion of the textile wastes. The volume of the textile waste derived from clothing is large since consumers continuously update their wardrobes. In Canada, there exists a fully developed infrastructure for apparel waste recycling, including collection programs and processing facilities. This infrastructure supports efficient recycling and reusing used garments. Enhanced consumer awareness about sustainability, more so, the environmental effect of waste textiles increases attention to garment recycling. Policies and initiatives setting targets to reduce textile waste by enhancing recycling strengthen the position as the leading segment. The Canadian textile recycling market is expected to witness growth in the home furnishing waste segment. Increasingly, with growing environmental awareness of Canadians, greater interest is paid to the recycling of home furnishings such as upholstery, curtains, and bedding. This trend represents part of a larger dynamic of sustainability and the reduction of wastage. Improved recycling technologies are making it more and more possible to process home furnishing textiles, most of which are composed of complex materials. These innovations are allowing for the expansion of recycling capabilities for these things. Automotive wastes involve textiles from car interiors, like seat covers and carpets. While it accounts for a smaller portion than apparel and home furnishing wastes, it is of importance due to the specificity of materials used and specialized recycling processes that need to be developed. The others include industrial textiles, medical textiles, and many more. Most of these materials require special recycling processes and in some cases involve particular difficulties. Continuous research and technological development are slowly but steadily increasing the ability to recycle these other diverse sources of textiles.

In Canada, cotton is a priority material in textile recycling because of its high usage and easy recyclability. Textiles made from cotton, mainly garment and home fabrics, will significantly input into the volume of textile waste. Being one of the staple materials used in the apparel industry, cotton makes up a big part of the textile waste. Its high occurrence in consumer goods enables a steady supply of raw material to be generated for the recycling process. Cotton is relatively easily recycled mechanically. Since the procedure of recycling fibers to be re-spun into new textiles retains high quality for the recycled material, this added efficiency helps cotton lead the line. In Canada, high growth is seen in textile recycling. Polyester is one of the most used synthetic fibers in clothing and industrial fabrics. This naturally results in a considerable volume of wastes, which require proper waste management. Indeed, recent developments in recycling technologies including chemical recycling are significantly boosting the efficiency of processing polyester wastes.

It is these innovations that currently enable high-quality fibers to be produced from polyester wastes and thus drive growth in this segment. Part of this broad urge toward a circular economy has been to increase investment in recycling technologies for polyester so that mankind can rely less on virgin materials and have less effect on the environment. Nylon textiles find their usage in everything from apparel to industrial products. The possibility for recycling nylon is quite tricky due to the complicated chemical structure it possesses. Technology is giving way to improve nylon recycling, but certainly not close enough to what is happening with cotton or polyester. Wool does not turn up as frequently in the recycling market as cotton and polyester, but it is an area of importance, nonetheless. If wool is such a good material for recycling into new products, this comes from its natural properties.

The post-consumer segment leads and is rising in the textile recycling market in Canada due to increased awareness about the environment and sustainability among the consumer base. Post-consumer textiles landfilled or sent to charity by consumers at the end of their service life include garments and home textiles. The growth rate of this sector is on its fast track as more and more people and institutions lean towards the path of sustainability, thus increasing the collection through donation drives, recycling programs, and recovery initiatives for used textiles. More and more, government regulations and incentives on landfills are forcing consumers to recycle their old textiles rather than landfill them. The pre-consumer segment includes all textile wastes created during the process of manufacturing. This would include off-cuts from the patterns, defective items, and production wastes. While this segment important, it is normally less significant in volume in comparison with post-consumer wastes. Most manufacturers generally have strategies in place for reducing wastes, and the majority of them have already initiated circular economy practices included the recycling of pre-consumer textiles is slowly picking up. However, the growth in this segment will not be very high as compared to the post-consumer textiles segment, since the pre-consumer waste handling mostly happens within the premises of the production facilities and might remain hidden from the consumer's eye.

The mechanically induced segment currently leads in the textile recycling market in Canada, and it includes very well-established processes that are cost-effective. Mechanical recycling involves the physical breaking of textiles into fibers without changing their chemical structure. It finds an application in recycling cotton, polyester, and their blends since it allows spinning new yarns and fabrics from discarded textiles. This prime position is attributed to the availability of technology, high processing capacities, and a well-established supply chain. Besides, mechanical recycling goes with the circular economy, whereby the manufacturer is capable of manufacturing new products with minimal wastes. The United States and China have also massively invested in mechanical recycling technologies, thereby cementing its lead in the market. Chemical recycling, still in its growth phase, is fast gaining impetus due to the fact that technology improvements are making it an increasingly viable way to recycle blended and synthetic textiles. Chemical recycling works through breaking down the textiles into basic chemicals, which, upon recovery, can be used to produce new fibers. This is specifically of interest in connection with materials like polyester and nylon, in which mechanical recycling proves difficult due to the complex blends. Growing investments in research and development, in addition to consumer demands for sustainable ways of treating products after use, are driving this segment. As pressure comes on the textile industry to cut its environmental impacts, so chemical recycling could emerge as a complement to mechanical recycling.

Considered in this report
• Historic year: 2018
• Base year: 2023
• Estimated year: 2024
• Forecast year: 2029

Aspects covered in this report
• Textile Recycling market Outlook with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Material
• Cotton
• Polyester & Polyester Fiber
• Nylon & Nylon Fiber
• Wool
• Others

By Source
• Apparel Waste
• Home Furnishing Waste
• Automotive Waste
• Others

By End-Use Industry
• Apparel
• Home Furnishings
• Industrial & Institutional
• Others

By Textile Waste
• Post-consumer
• Pre-consumer

By Process
• Mechanical
• Chemicals

The approach of the report:

This report consists of a combined approach of primary and secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list the companies that are present in it. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources, primary research was conducted by conducting telephone interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this; we have started making primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting them in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us, we can start verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience

This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations, and organizations related to the Textile Recycling industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing and presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.