Italy Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029

Italy Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029

In the early years advanced with the increased environmental concerns and sustainability issues, Italy developed a sophisticated textile recycling market. In the past, textile waste mostly ended up at landfills or was incinerated, but at the early 21st century, advanced recycling began to be common. Implementation of European Union Waste Framework Directive, with the introduction of national regulations mapping to it, served as precursors to a much more organized recycling industry. The transition opened up the possibility of the country creating a comprehensive textile recycling industry enriched with the latest technology and a focus on sustainability. Technological advancement forms the basis of textile recycling in Italy. While also applied in mechanical recycling technologies, such as Cofil's, which shred the textiles into new fibres, chemical recycling breaks up textiles into their basic components, as seen through Dondero's operations. An up-and-coming means, enzymatic textile recycling, uses enzymes to break down textiles on a molecular level. In the process, the efficiency and effectiveness increases for recycling, whereby it has become possible to handle a wider variety of textiles. In Italy, the supporting infrastructure varies in detail in regard to textile recycling, from collection to sorting and processing. Collection and sorting are carried out at a municipal level, assisted by organizations like Comieco and EcoTyre to take care of other stages are collection and logistics. Upgraded sorting facilities, run by automated systems and artificial intelligence, in efficient systems, ensure textiles are properly categorized for recycling or reuse. Such infrastructure would be required to process, manage the textile wastes, also, which are produced in quantity and processed effectively. Consumer engagement is an essential driver for the textile recycling market in Italy. Public awareness by several institutions about the value of recycling with the help of the campaigns is undertaken by institutions like EcoTyre, programs that are rife with incentives too, such as discounting recycling prices for customers or donating and exchanging old clothes will make sure that the consumers become part of it. ""Leading by example, the country's leading Italian fashion brands such as Gucci and Prada have been utilizing recycled materials in their products, and are promoting design and other production procedures towards sustainability."" Italy has a policy framework in support of textile recycling by means of extensive and detailed regulations and directives. In its National Waste Management Plan, Italy has set specific measures toward obtaining better rates for textile recycling and reducing landfill use. Regional initiatives taken by such organizations as Comieco lend teleological support to national-level efforts in recycling.

According to the research report ""Italy Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029,"" published by Bonafide Research, the Italy Textile Recycling market is anticipated to grow at more than 4% CAGR from 2024 to 2029. Italy is the most widely-known hub for textile recycling and more than a hundred companies have joined the Italian Textile and Recycling Association (Prato, Italy). The traditionally old rugs and clothes are collected from different parts of the world and turned into yarn. Growth is driven by the increasing consumer demand for sustainable products and supportive government policies. Major players in the market are Cofil, which is engaged in mechanical recycling, and Dondero, which is famous for its recycling technologies. Such companies epitomize Italy's resolve to turn textile waste into a valuable resource. The economic impact of textile recycling in Italy is very notable. It supports employment in the areas of collection, sorting, and processing through large companies and startups that drive creation, hence economic growth. These materials are infused into many industries, be it in the field of fashion or automotive, which multiplies economic returns and lessens the use of virgin resources. Investment in recycling technologies and their infrastructures further drives economic activity. Environmentally, too, Italy holds a vast market for textile recycling. This diverts the textile material from the landfill, averting waste to landfill and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling one tonne of textiles can save approximately 25,000 liters of water and reduce CO2 emissions by 2 tonnes compared to virgin textile manufacturing. Use of recycled material also brings in resource conservation by curtailing the use of virgin fibers and the energy impact in the processing textile industry. Recent events and government policies have significantly shaped the market for textile recycling in Italy. The Italian government has been in the forefront of promoting the process through initiatives and specific regulations in making the textile industry more sustainable. With the establishment of the National Waste Management Plan came the commitment to decrease landfill and to increase recycling. The EPR scheme was launched in 2023, putting the responsibility on textile manufacturers for the ""overall life-cycle"" of their products from manufacturing right through to their disposal when they reach their end-of-life stage.

Italy has certainly kept the textile recycling market alive, especially in the town of Prato, otherwise known as the ""Textile Town."" Actually, Prato has been recycling clothing for more than 100 years, which really makes this town a forerunner when talking about sustainable fashion. The town's method of recycling is quite amazing, with there being different departments specialized in the various phases are from separation by color and type of fibers from old clothes to cleaning, drying, and weaving them into new cloth. If mechanical recycling dominates the Italian market by process, that means old clothes are ground into raw materials that form new yarns and fabrics. The town of Prato has perfected the art of turning rubbish into new, high-quality fabrics; it has a well-applied textile recycling industry. By material, wool represents an important segment of the Italian textile recycling market, and Prato is one of the main hubs for wool recycling. Major fashion brands like Zara, H&M, Banana Republic, and Armani have been attracted by the expertise of Prato in wool recycling and have used Prato recycled wool fabrics in their collections. Other materials, such as cotton, polyester, and nylon, are also undergoing recycling processes in Italy, although to a lesser extent. Still, with the growing demand for sustainable fashion, these materials will no doubt assume a more important place in the Italian textile recycling market.

Different sources of textile wastes, each with their unique characteristics and related recycling challenges, supply the country with feedstock. Clothing dominates the sectors in textile recycling in Italy, probably due to the key position held by the fashion industry in the country and how fast clothes are consumed. The collection, sorting, and processing in the recycling process of apparel wastes are common practices based on the material makeup of the textiles. The most used mechanical recycling methods in turning apparel waste into new yarns or fabrics are shredding and spinning. The quality of the fibers recycled from apparel wastes degrades with every cycle, therefore offering a challenge to the industry. New solutions, as chemical recycling, are being innovated to make the quality of apparel wastes better. In this direction, new technologies are being developed by Italian companies and research institutions. The second most prominent source of textile waste in Italy is furnishing waste, already emerging as a potential growing segment of the textile recycling market. Curtains, upholstery, bed linens, and other home furnishings contribute to a substantial amount of wastes from textiles. The recycling process for home furnishing waste follows the same structure as apparel waste recycling are collection, sorting, and processing. Home furnishing discards can include, among other things, blended fabric types, which makes recycling rather arduous. Advanced sorting and separation technologies are being developed to overcome these challenges and improve the recycling rates of home furnishing discards. Automotive waste is yet another small but high-profile source of textile wastes in Italy. Since the textiles applied in the automotive sector, like seat covers, carpets, and airbags, are designed with special standards to ensure safety and performance, so is their recycling process. Depending on the composition of materials that makeup automotive textile wastes, products resulting from the process can be made from mechanical or chemical recycling. In this way, second-generation fibers could be used for producing new automotive textiles or other products, helping to close the loop of the automotive sector. Other sources of textile wastes in Italy can be industrial and institutional textiles are technical clothes, filter clothes, and geotextiles, and hospital linens and uniforms, respectively. Specialized recycling processes need to be developed to deal with these streams effectively. The Italian government implemented waste management plans and extended producer responsibility schemes, which attracted much textile recycling. In addition, organizations at CONAI, Consorzio Nazionale Imballaggi, and the Italian Textile Recycling Association play a very significant role in the collection, sorting, and recycling of textile wastes in Italy.

The Italian textile recycling market is booming where, both mechanical and chemical routes will be important in this industry. Mechanical recycling still seems to be the most widespread reality in Italy's textile recycling panorama. Actually, the rags, shredded and re-spun, have found well-established routes in areas of strong textile culture such as Prato in Tuscany. Known for being Europe's biggest textile district, Prato has been at the vanguard of textile recycling since the 1970s. Companies here have perfected the art of turning old clothes and textile scraps into new fabrics, proving a potential path for the circular economy in the textile sector. As Italy is famous for its competence in textile manufacturing, it means very qualitative recycled products satisfactory to fashion standard. Although still in its infancy compared with mechanical recycling, chemical recycling in Italy is showing promising growth. The process provides for the recycling of complex fiber blends and synthetic materials that otherwise are quite hard to recycle mechanically. Research institutions and companies working within Italy are investing a lot in the development and scale-up of the technologies for chemical recycling. For instance, the Aquafil Group, located in Arco, has developed the ECONYL® regeneration system, which translates to a chemical recycling process able to retransform nylon waste into new nylon fibers at virgin quality. In this way, it is possible that innovative approaches like the recycling of materials such as fishing nets and carpet fibers will open up a completely new arena beyond traditional apparel textile waste. The Italian government and the industry associations, no doubt, are contributing to the promotion of textile recycling. For example, the ""Green Deal"" approach in the Italian fashion industry encourages brands to increase the use of recycled materials in their products. Italy is seriously developing plans to implement the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, fueling investment in recycling technologies and infrastructure.

Organizations like ASTRI (Associazione del Tessile Riciclato Italiano) set the pace through the fight for recognition of the recycled textiles and spread good practices inside the production value chain. The main objectives that ASTRI pursues are to enhance the environmental sustainability of textile production and create a legislation supporting recycling. Italy has started by concentrating on post-consumer textile waste stemming from clothing and household textiles. In terms of generation, the country produces about 1 million tonnes annually, although only about 10% is currently recovered for recycling considerable potential against the requirement for higher recycling rates in Italy. Ambitiously, it has created an ERP Italia Textile Consortium with the target of recycling 50% of the country's textile waste by 2035. This consortium shall be based upon Extended Producers' Responsibility, which puts the onus of waste management on producers and importers, hence encouraging them to invest in green. Besides post-consumer waste, attention is called into pre-consumer textile waste in Italy. It is, in simple terms, valued as a resource and emanates as waste during the manufacturing process, which can be relocated into the production cycle. Companies such as Recover™ are leading the charge in transforming pre-consumer waste into recycled fibers, therefore showing potential to innovate in this area. Integration of advanced recycling technologies and establishment of specialized recycling facilities within regions like Prato can help address these two types of waste. Besides, it is the case that the increasing consumer behavior towards eco-friendliness has been driving demand towards sustainable fashion solutions. As the new generations raise the bar for ethics and the environment, companies are forced to adjust to better practices. This change reflects through a rise in fashion startups and well-established companies that include recycled materials into their collections.

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.