New Look, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Oxfam and Circle-8 have launched The Circuit, a collaborative model designed to build circular textile value chains using end-of-use clothing generated in the UK.
The initiative brings together retailers, textile recovery partners, automated sorting providers, recyclers, digital innovators and manufacturers. Its first phase will focus on testing, learning and developing the operational frameworks required to support future scale-up.
In 2024, approximately 1.4 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles were generated across the UK, with nearly half estimated to comprise non-reusable textiles. Demand for recycled textile materials is growing, but the systems required to create them from post-consumer textiles are still developing.
The Circuit is intended to create pathways through which UK-generated, non-reusable end-of-use textiles can be recovered, sorted and pre-processed into input materials for existing and emerging fibre-to-fibre recycling.
By bringing organisations from across the value chain together, the initiative aims to create the scale, consistency and commercial conditions needed to improve the future viability of textile-to-textile recycling. It is also intended to support job creation and manufacturing, with automated sorting and pre-processing located close to where end-of-use textiles are generated before materials are turned into feedstock for regional and global supply chains.
The partnership will support the development of both mechanical and chemical recycling processes capable of transforming UK-generated post-consumer textiles into raw materials for regional and global textile manufacturing. By developing multiple routes to market and products for recovered materials, participating retailers will help shape the value chains needed to support future circular materials.
Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems, the development company behind The Circuit, is developing the infrastructure, partnerships and commercial frameworks required to connect post-consumer textile recovery with future circular material supply. This includes Automated Textile Sorting and Pre-processing facilities designed to create feedstock for existing and emerging textile recyclers.
First Phase To Begin In Batley In 2027
The first phase of The Circuit will begin in January 2027 at Oxfam’s site in Batley, Yorkshire. Initial work will focus on automated textile sorting alongside the development of reporting frameworks to improve traceability, identifying circular material opportunities, building relationships with recyclers and exploring operational models that could support further scaling.
Oxfam will separate reusable and non-reusable textiles and operate the automated textile sorting equipment, building on its longstanding expertise in textile recovery and reuse.
Industry Partners On The Circuit
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