Jackie King
Executive Director Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association
Global Textile Recycling Market To Generate Nearly $8 Bn By 2026
Founded in 1932, the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) comprises companies from all over the world which acquire both unused and used (pre- and post-consumer) textiles for reuse and recycling purposes. JACKIE KING, executive director, talks to Paulami Chatterjee about the programmes SMART conducts to generate awareness about textile recycling and the job opportunities its members provide to people.
How big is the textile recycling business globally? At what rate is it growing?
According to Allied Marketing Research, the global textile recycling market was valued at $5.3 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to generate nearly $8 billion by 2026.
What kind of job opportunities do members provide? How do they help people make money by being socially responsible?
SMART's membership provides a variety of jobs to a lot of different people. Some of them are in sales and management positions, but they also employ skilled and semiskilled workers who manage the sorting and grading of clothing as well as wiping cloth.
Through these business activities, forprofit textile recyclers create meaningful employment for tens of thousands of people who drive local economies and generate much-needed tax revenue across the US. They also generate meaningful income for numerous well-respected charities and make vital contributions to state and national environmental goals through the recycling of nearly four billion pounds of clothing and other textile waste that otherwise would go to a landfill each year.
SMART's members are committed to being green and socially responsible to make a difference for the planet. Our members are responsible for finding a use for something that many people simply throw away. Due to their work, materials are kept out of landfills and are able to serve a new purpose.
How do SMART companies source the pre- and post-consumer waste? What kind of tie-ups are required for these activities?
Some SMART members recover and process "pre-consumer" by-products from the textile and fibre industries to be used in new materials for automobiles, home furnishings and a variety of other products. Others buy and sell "post-consumer" secondhand textiles, purchasing excess textile donations collected from various charities and commercial sources (e.g, the Salvation Army, Goodwill, hospitals, hotels, industrial laundries, etc), while others collect used textiles dropped off by the public via clothing collection bins conveniently located throughout communities. Some of these recovered textiles become wiping and polishing cloth used in institutional and industrial settings while others are reprocessed into fibres for furniture stuffing, upholstery, insulation, building and other materials. The items that can be reused as apparel are usually exported, typically to least developed and developing countries such as those in East Africa, where the demand for affordable, quality clothing is particularly high. It should be pointed out that while the recycled fibre is a useful by-product of the clothing recycling trade, it is the resale of good, usable clothing that renders the overall industry profitable.
Recycling in many parts of Europe and the US also means dumping them in poorer regions like Africa and some in Asia too. But that is greenwashing as the landfills will be overloaded by that waste in some other part of the earth later. What is SMART's take on this?
The members of our association spend a lot of time and resources to sort and grade secondhand materials for the intention of sale. Therefore, when it comes to our membership, it does not make sense to ship materials to a country where they are unable to offload the materials for a profit.
How much of reduction in pollution and emission of greenhouse gases does textile recycling promise?
The US EPA reports that current clothing and textiles recycling has a greater impact on reducing greenhouse gases than the recycling of yard waste, glass and plastic. Reuse and recycling of clothing and textiles is the equivalent of removing 1.3 million cars from America's highways and is equal to the impact of aluminum recycling. It is more impactful than plastic recycling (670 thousand cars removed) and glass recycling (175,000 cars removed).
On an average, how much of pre- and post-consumer waste is recycled annually by the SMART members? How much is the target set for the next two years?
Textile recyclers reuse and recycle roughly five billion pounds of textiles per year. There is no set target for the next two years. Our members' goal is to work collaboratively with their partners to recycle as much as possible.
What kind of textile products are made from the recycled waste materials? How are they sold to consumers again?
"New" products come in the form of wiping rags, polishing cloth, furniture stuffing, upholstery, home insulation, automobile soundproofing, carpet padding, building materials and various other products like wet napkins that you find at barbecue restaurants. As mentioned, many of the wiping rags manufactured by SMART members are created for the intent of disinfecting/ sanitising facilities, offices, businesses, homes and more.
What kind of awareness programmes does SMART conduct to make people understand the importance of textiles recycling?
SMART has developed and disseminated several programmes in its nearly 100-year history. Notably, in 2015, we launched a campaign for children to educate them on the importance of textile reuse and recycling. The campaign included presentation slides, infographics, fun and exciting worksheets, as well as lesson plans for teachers to implement in their classrooms.
Additionally, SMART worked with a number of its members to develop the 'Collection Bin Code of Conduct' designed to help inform consumers of the exact intentions of clothing bin operators, should some members of the public choose to donate their unwanted textiles in that manner.
At present, SMART maintains a strong social media presence, regularly sharing information, resources, news articles and more to help educate consumers on the importance of textile reuse and recycling. This has been a great forum for SMART to share the infographics mentioned above, that are currently housed on our website.
Finally, SMART partners with several nonprofit organisations whose missions are to keep textile waste away from landfills. Through these partnerships, more consumers are made aware of the importance of textile recycling.
How has the pandemic impacted textile recyclers' and exporters' business?
At the onset of the pandemic, markets where secondhand goods were generally sold were shut down. Among our members, this resulted in a challenge in offloading materials collected. Additionally, when it comes to the United States and Canada, many textile recycling programmes, like donation bins and even curbside textile recycling, were suspended. This limited operators' abilities to collect materials.
Something important to note is that many of our members are intimately involved in the manufacture of wiping rags and cloths. Due to the nature of the pandemic, these businesses and their employees were deemed essential, because households, hospitals and other entities needed the cloth to clean their facilities, sterilise equipment, etc.
Finally, because many people were quarantined at home, there was an increase in those folks cleaning out their closets. And, when they were able to donate the materials once again, many of our SMART members cited that the overall quality of the goods they received increased.
What are your future goals?
SMART aims to grow its membership to 150 by the year 2022. In that time period, the association's goal is to also grow its membership internationally. Finally, our goal remains to continue raising awareness of the importance of textile reuse and recycling to help foster a healthier planet for generations to come.
How many SMART member companies are there at present?
SMART comprises 130 members-for profit businesses in the textile reuse and recycling industry-across the globe. We also have a handful of associate members, who are companies who assist our members in their daily activities by managing bailing and shipping processes.
Published on: 05/02/2021
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
