Saudi Arabia Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029

Saudi Arabia Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029

The textile recycling market in Saudi Arabia can be described as recycling yesterday's clothes to become the bricks of tomorrow. The Saudi Arabian textile recycling market can only be termed nascent, although it has seen considerable developments in the last few years. Traditionally, landfills and incinerators were the largest sinks for most textile wastes, while very little was done on the front of recycling. The growing environmental awareness and resultant government initiatives have refocused this toward more sustainable ways of waste management. The Saudi Vision 2030 has thus been instrumental in this shift through its call for the adoption of the recycling practices across different industries, such as the textiles sector. In the last couple of years, the textile recycling market in Saudi Arabia has witnessed vital growth. Advanced facilities, dedicated to recycling and endowed with superior technologies, have brought about higher efficiency and greater scale in textile recycling. The key developments include partnerships between public authorities and the private sector in establishing recycling facilities and launching information campaigns on recycling among the public. For instance, the SRIC, an independent subsidiary of PIF, was called to develop and operate integrated waste management systems, including textile recycling. Several trends shape the Saudi Arabian textile recycling market. Sustainability is taking over the fashion world, with upcycled textiles growing in popular lines, at the same time as enhancements in recycling technologies, such as automated sorting and chemical recycling, are being used to raise the quality and efficiency of the materials to be reincarnated. The Saudi government has framed a number of policies and regulations that facilitate textile recycling. The National Waste Management Center is responsible for overseeing the policies on waste management, including the recycling initiatives. The EPR regulations require producers to be responsible for the end-of-life management of products; therefore, they are deferring to design more recyclable textiles and create take-back schemes. In that direction, the Environmental Protection Law has stipulated comprehensive measures of waste reduction and recycling and has provided for a regulatory framework for the same with respect to sustainable waste management practices. Sustainability thus lies at the heart of Saudi Arabian textile recycling efforts. This would help the country reduce its environmental footprint by keeping textile wastes away from landfills and promoting resource efficiency. More organizations are advocating sustainability and environmental protection, which contributes directly to the more comprehensive goals of Vision 2030.

According to the research report ""Saudi Arabia Textile Recycling Market Overview, 2029,"" published by Bonafide Research, the Saudi Arabia Textile Recycling market is anticipated to add to more than USD 10 Million by 2024–29.The ability of the sector to work with either kind of waste is important in addressing the wide variety of textiles produced and consumed within the country. State-of-the-art recycling technologies, including mechanical and chemical methods of recycling, make the sector quite effective in handling materials of varying nature. Efficient collection and sorting systems are important if textile recycling is to thrive in Saudi Arabia. Almost all larger cities have collection points organized by municipalities and private organizations where consumers can take their textiles to be recycled. The National Center for Waste Management's Recycling Campaign calls on all residents to start recycling unwanted textiles in special bins. Modern sorting facilities with automated systems, powered by artificial intelligence, are designed to sort out the textiles with high accuracy for recycling or reuse. From waste collection to sorting and processing, the chain provides jobs. Putting investment into technology and infrastructure for recycling creates jobs, which in turn provokes innovation and growth. Since it reduces the requirement for virgin materials, there is also a cost savings that helps to encourage resource efficiency. The Saudi Waste Management Conference held in 2022 emphasized the need for recycling and had deliberations on new waste management solutions including textile recycling. In that view, the Green Saudi Initiative Forum stresses that the country has keen interest in promoting sustainability and thus much interest in textile recycling. The Saudi Green Initiative organizations instill the spirit of Vision 2030 with sustainability and protection of the environment. Such efforts are very crucial in placing Saudi Arabia at the top in terms of sustainable textile management. In 2018, Saudi recycling service Kiswa worked with charities to ensure surplus clothes were safely disposed of while supporting the spirit of fraternity and social cooperation on environmental concerns and other charitable causes. There is also an Islamic concept of dressing in new clothes for the Eids, Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha called Kiswat Al-Eid where every Muslim, rich or poor, wears new clothes.

A fast-growing textile recycling market is one that turns its attention to Saudi Arabia due to increasing awareness about sustainability and waste management. Cotton is the major natural fiber that dominates the textile recycling market in Saudi Arabia. The cotton wastes are sorted, shredded mechanically, and finally spun into new yarns to complete the recycling process. This, however, subjects the fibers to a quality decline after every cycle, which is the reason the number of times cotton can be recycled effectively is limited. In a bid to surmount the problem, Saudi Arabia is working on such innovative solutions as chemical recycling, wherein cotton could be broken down to the molecular level for higher-quality re-use. Programs such as Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program play a significant role in enhancing the infrastructure of recycling and developing advanced technologies related to the recycling of cotton and other textiles. The most significant share of the textile recycling market in Saudi Arabia is driven by polyester and polyester fibers, and its presence is also rising due to its extensive application coupled with the capability to be recycled. The recycling process usually includes the steps of melting the polyester waste and extruding it into new fibers. It is in the plans of Saudi Arabia to invest in state-of-the-art recycling technologies such as chemical recycling in order to enhance efficiency and quality in the recycling of polyester. In the current scene, nylon and nylon fibers show very challenging issues in the textile recycling market. Although nylon can be recycled, it has a very complicated energy-consuming process. Mechanical recycling is widely practiced but generates poor fiber quality. Hence, chemical recycling provides the most hopeful solution since it produce high-quality nylon from waste. Saudi Arabia is working on novel recycling ways of Nylon. Wool, another natural fiber being recycled in Saudi Arabia, is on a much smaller scale of operation. This sorting, cleaning, and shredding of wool textiles into fibers are then spun to new yarn. Wool recycling is far less common compared to others because of low market share and processing difficulties stemming from wool waste. Other textile materials, such as silk, linen, and synthetic blends, are recycled to some extent in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Arabian textile waste recycling market is rapidly growing and changing and this has been so due to the country's Vision 2030 initiative, which has emphasized sustainability and the diversification of the economy. The retail sector in major cities like Riyadh and Jeddah contributes to large amounts of waste textiles. Government and the private sector have recently begun taking initiatives in collecting and recycling post-consumer apparel. The Saudi Investment Recycling Company, for instance, is currently engaged in developing an integrated system for recycling, including facilities for the processing of textile wastes. Domestic furnishings form a growth segment within the Saudi textile recycling market. Rapid urbanization and the development of new cities, such as NEOM, bring a fast-growing inflow of textiles from residential and commercial spaces. Add to that the hospitality sector, and an important part of Saudi Arabia's economic diversification plans significantly add to this inflow. Some local companies have started specializing in the recycling of carpets, curtains, and other home textiles, though this sector is still in its infancy. Wastes from automotive textiles are currently relatively small but are expected to grow given the diversification of the Kingdom into the automotive sector. It is venturing into electric vehicle production, which result in new ways of recycling automotive textiles. Other key sources of textile wastes in Saudi Arabia come from industrial textiles, originating in the oil and gas industry; institutional wastes from hospitals, schools, etc.; and technical textiles utilized for numerous construction projects. Ambitious plans on infrastructure development are most likely to increase the volume of these types of specialized streams of textile wastes. The Saudi government is taking proactive initiatives to encourage recycling in all walks of life, including textiles. A body called the National Waste Management Center was established in 2035; it has been working hard to improve waste management practices. It is presently developing a model for the circular economy in which textiles also are to be planned for recycling. Innovation in the sector is happening, with some companies exploring better recycling technologies. For example, there is a growing interest in chemical recycling processes that can cope more effectively with mixed textile waste than traditional mechanical methods.

The Saudi Arabian textile recycling market has grown to become a very important module in the country's broader aspirations related to sustainability, and it deals with the management of post-consumer and pre-consumer textile wastes. It is expected that, with rapid urbanization and economic growth, the quantum of wastes generated from textiles would increase immensely in the country. Presently, a large portion of waste gets landfilled, and there is a need to adopt effective recycling solutions. Focus in Saudi Arabia on recycling in the textile industry is on post-consumer textiles where garments and household wastes from consumers. Organizations like the Saudi Arabian Recycling Company have begun to take steps to improve collection and recycling activities. SARC is currently developing an all-encompassing infrastructure for recycling that can successfully deal with growing amounts of waste textiles. Campaigns for community awareness are underway to ensure that citizens participate in the recycling process by making them realize the gains towards the environment from reusing and recycling textiles. Pre-consumer textile waste coming in the process of manufacturing poses important growth opportunities for the recycling sector. The Saudi textile industry is one of the crucial sectors within the economy that produces huge volumes of fabric wastes and defective garments. For instance, waste is being changed into new textiles or other products before it even becomes consumer waste, significantly cutting down on waste and increasing sustainability. Notably, sustainability and environmental care trends are factors that govern consumers' behavior in Saudi Arabia. With increased awareness of the contribution of fast fashion and textile waste to environmental degradation, demand for sustainable products is on the rise. This greatly nudges the local brands into taking up eco-friendly activities, such as the use of recycled materials in their collections.

The Saudi Arabian textile recycling market is huge and growing due to increasing awareness about the sustainability aspect of reducing textile waste. The major processes dominating the market presently are Mechanical Recycling and Chemical Recycling. The Saudi Arabian textile recycling market is dominated by mechanical recycling, commanding the largest share of the total market. This is the physical disruption of the textile waste into fibers, yarns, or smaller fabrics by mechanical means like cutting, shredding, or grinding. The resultant raw materials are further processed to make new textile products, such as clothing, upholstery, or even insulation material. Because it is relatively inexpensive and not difficult to implement, mechanical recycling is well utilized in Saudi Arabia. Most of the textile recycling facilities in the country specializes in mechanical recycling, which works best with cotton, polyester, and blended fabrics. In Saudi Arabia, mechanical recycling is applied mostly to post-consumer textiles like used clothes and scraps of fabrics coming from domestic refuse, thrift shops, and centers for the collection of textile wastes. These collected fibers are again sold to the manufacturers for the production of new products, thereby decreasing their burden towards virgin raw material demand and minimizing its negative impact on the environment. Chemical recycling is another methodology rapidly gaining popularity in the Saudi Arabian textile recycling market and is also referred to as the solvent-based recycling technique. It means the chemical processing of textiles for their breakdown into raw materials in the form of fibers, yarns, or polymers to be created from the obtained raw materials through this process. In the process of chemical recycling, raw materials that turn up at the end include the fibers, yarns, or fabrics with properties equal or very close to those of the virgin materials obtained for the manufacture of new textile products. Basically, chemical recycling works well on synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic, which are basically used in clothing, carpets, and upholstery.

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.