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Review of Wool Recycling and Reuse

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 2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NATURAL FIBERS

REVIEW OF WOOL RECYCLING AND REUSE

Stephen J. Russell1
Paul Swan2,3
Mariell Trebowicz1
Angus Ireland2
1
Nonwovens Innovation and Research Institute, Leeds, United Kingdom
2
Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI), Sydney, Australia
3
International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO), Brussels, Belgium

ABSTRACT
In the objective assessment of a textile product’s environmental footprint, its destination at the end of
‘first life’ is often overlooked. This may be due to a lack of data about the extent of recycling and reuse
for particular textile products, but the oversight weakens the utility of eco-metrics and Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA), especially where commercial forces seek their utilisation for fibre selection
purposes. Reflecting a need for a more detailed understanding of the end of life destinations for wool
garments, existing recycling and reuse practices are considered in this paper.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Salient points include:
• The consumer plays a decisive role in determining the end of life destiny of any wool garment.
Products that are directed to clothing banks, take-back schemes, or which are re-sold instead of
being discarded as municipal waste can have substantial commercial value and help to minimise
environmental impacts. Collection rates vary considerably by country, but have increased
substantially in many developed countries driven by greater environmental awareness.
• Ranked in order of resource efficiency, destinations for end-of-life wool garments include re-use
(wearable garments sold to be worn again), recycling (garments become raw materials for
manufacturing other products), incineration (energy generation), and landfill.
• Wool has been found to account for up to ca. 5% by weight of the total clothing donated by
consumers for recycling and reuse (UK study) which is substantially higher than wool’s share
of the virgin fibre supply of about 1.5%.
• Both open and closed loop recycling of wool are commercially well established and extend the
active life of the wool fibre by many years beyond the first use phase.
A number of data gaps need to be filled to enable the cradle-to-grave environmental impact of wool to
be fully considered. These relate to the size and value of the global wool garment pool, the active life of
wool from cradle to grave, branding and marketing opportunities for recycled/reused wool and the need
to reconnect with the global wool recycling and reuse supply chain.

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INTRODUCTION
The demand for wool as a high quality ‘virtuous’ product that is accepted by the growing Lifestyles of
Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) demographic is influenced by its eco-perception and by
publically available eco-metrics. From an environmental sustainability perspective, the destiny of
any wool garment after the first user discards it is critically important if an accurate picture of
the full cradle-to-grave life cycle of the constituent fibre is to be established. Most life cycle
analyses concerning wool have not fully considered the possibility of a second use phase as a
result of recycling or reuse of the fibre. This paper has been prepared in response to the
pressing need for a more detailed understanding of the end of life destinations of wool, the
general market dynamics of recycling and reuse and considers relevant industrial case studies.
1 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Wool Products

When considering the overall impact of consumer products such as articles of clothing, Life Cycle
Assessments (LCAs) should ideally consider the entire life cycle and therefore the cumulative
impact from ‘cradle to grave’. At present, most LCAs related to clothing, including those dealing
with wool products, do not consider the overall impact, but rather a narrower range of aspects, such
as farming and fibre production, yarn and clothing manufacturing, and the use phase by the
consumer. The impacts associated with both the active and end-of- life phases of wool in a full life
cycle assessment are difficult to quantify due to the variation in consumer practices during the
active-life phase, the extent of recycling and re-use and finally, the type of disposal. Consequently,
an accurate picture of the cumulative impact from ‘cradle to grave’ has not hitherto been obtained.
Existing LCAs of wool fibre production (farming) and wool textile manufacturing (scouring, yarn
and fabric production), frequently highlight the high energy consumptions involved in both, which
does not portray a favourable situation. The problem is compounded by the lack of consistency in
the methods that are used to carry out LCA studies. A previous review of publically available wool
LCAs revealed considerable variation in the methodologies that have been applied in individual
assessments and significant data gaps that potentially limit the capacity to accurately interpret or to
compare results from the different studies [1]. In the majority of LCA studies for clothing fibres
such as wool, it is often conveniently assumed that garments are immediately landfilled (or
disposed of) at the end of their first life phase (Figure 1).

Raw  wool  
Transport  
Scouring  
Topmaking  
Shrink  resist  
Knitting  /Weaving  
Make-­‐-­‐-­‐up  
Transport  
Garment  use  
Disposal  

Figure 1 – LCA for fine knit fabrics[2]

 

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The assumption of immediate disposal of products at the end of the first use phase hides a much
more complex picture because of the large quantities of post-consumer clothing that are either
recycled or reused, such that the constituent fibres remain in operational service beyond the end of
the first life. With the growing use of eco-metrics to compare the environmental impacts of
different fibres and textile products, it is therefore essential to develop a more realistic LCA
footprint for wool clothing that adequately deals with the overall cradle to grave picture, including
the life of the fibre beyond the first use phase. Part of the challenge is also to encourage cradle-to-
grave thinking in the entire wool industry because of the dependencies between phases. For
example, today’s garments are principally designed for the first use phase with little consideration
given to promoting recycling or reuse. Aspects such as homogeneity of fibre composition, ease of
disassembly, labelling/information to signpost appropriate disposal routes are important in this
respect.
2 End of Life Disposal of Post Consumer Clothing

The clothing and textile industry forms a considerable part of the world’s economy. At least $1
trillion is spent on clothes by consumers worldwide roughly a third of which is in Western Europe
and a third in North America [3]. It is not sustainable or resource efficient to imagine that all of
this consumption can be discarded as soon as the original consumer has no use for it. Furthermore,
landfill charges are a further economic disincentive. End of life (EoL) options for post consumer
waste wool clothing can be summarised as follows:
- Re-use (wearable garments sold to be worn again);
- Recycling (clothing used as raw materials for other processes/products);
- Incineration (energy generation) or,
- Landfill.
From a resource efficiency perspective, recycling of clothing can involve either open or closed
loop approaches [4].
Note that in the case of corporate clothing, serviceable garments will often be shredded rather than
reused because of concerns over security or brand protection due to these garments having
identifying company logos and emblems. The supply chain for corporate clothing is also quite
different to consumer clothing because the brand owner, or its agent will often control the
procurement, maintenance and collection of garments used by its personnel.

Reuse of garments that are still wearable by selling them in the global second-hand clothing market
is an effective way of maximising resource efficiency. Unsold or unwearable garments can be
recycled rather than landfilled. Closed loop recycling refers to the production of products that are
of similar value to the original garment. This is sometimes described as ‘same-cycling’ in which
new items of clothing are produced from fibres and fabrics that have been recovered from used
clothing, to make garments of similar commercial value. By contrast, open-loop recycling refers to
using recycled fibre for the production of other commercial products, such as insulation, that have
a lower commercial value than the original article of clothing.
The main negative environmental impact of incineration is the emission of CO2 (green house gas),
the positive consequence being the production of energy (steam, electricity). In some cases,
incineration of clothing has been claimed to generate more energy per unit weight than wood [5].

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3 Composition of Fibre Available for Recycling and Reuse

The relative proportions of different fibre types entering the waste stream for recycling and reuse
might be expected to mirror the virgin fibre volumes consumed in clothing production. However,
consumers are known to hold onto certain garment types much longer than others, and some are
considered too damaged for donation.
Very few national studies of the fibre composition of post consumer garment waste have been
reported. A US study reported the relative fibre content of a used clothing sample donated for
recycling and reuse by weight as follows: cotton, 59.29%; polyester, 21.82%; acrylic, 5.72%;
wool, 5.14%; nylon, 5.09%; and silk, 2.94% [15]. More recently, analysis of the fibre composition
of over 35,000 post consumer garments donated to the Salvation Army in the UK indicated that the
wool content was approximately 5% by weight of the total [16]. Therefore, in both the USA and
UK studies, the wool share of was roughly 5%, which is substantially higher than wool’s share of
the virgin fibre supply of about 1.5%.
There is also a scarcity of comparative information on the international incidence of garment recycling
and reuse, however a 2012 survey [28] of the wardrobe composition of 467 individuals across seven
major wool-consuming nations, is informative. Key findings of this study are summarised in Figure 2
and revealed the following:

Garment Quantities:
• Women owned more clothes than men (131 vs. 114 items), especially casual wear (54 vs. 40
items), but had less wool and wool-rich clothing in their wardrobe (8% vs. 13%).
• British women owned the most clothes (155) while the male wardrobe was topped by Americans
(124).
• Chinese wardrobes were the smallest with males owning 69 items and females 90 items.
• The largest clothes category was casual wear and the smallest was nightwear for men and
accessories (i.e. scarves, gloves and headwear) for women.
Fabric Type:
• Cotton and cotton blends dominated male and female wardrobes (68% and 67%), however the
proportion of wool and wool-rich garments was relatively high for males at 13% and for females
8% (see Figure 2).
• Chinese wardrobes had the largest wool content (males 19% and females 13%) followed by
Italian wardrobes (males 17% and females 13%).
• Wool content was highest for accessories (25%) followed by formal wear (17%), underwear
(11%) and casual wear (10%).
Garment Age:
• The average age of clothes in all wardrobes was 2.4 years.
• Wool was likely to be the oldest fabric in the wardrobe. Cotton garments were typically aged 1.9
years while wool garments were typically aged 2.8 years.
Disposal:
• Donation to charities and family was highest for formal (57%) and casual (54%) clothes
followed by sportswear (47%) and accessories (41%).

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• A higher proportion of wool garments (47%) was donated than synthetic (41%) or cotton (40%).
• Females were more likely to donate than males (53% vs 39%).
• Underwear (61%), and socks (58%) and and to a lesser degree nightwear (34%) were typically
binned. The next most common outcome for these categories was recycling at home (i.e. for use
as wipers).
In considering the entire wool life cycle, the survey findings are suggestive of a smaller LCA
footprint than may have been expected under the presumption of immediate disposal at the end of
first life. Not only did it indicate the first life of wool garments was longer than cotton and
synthetic garments, the respondents indicated an intention to preferentially donate wool-rich
garments towards a second life. This outcome is in accord with the findings of the UK and USA
donation studies [15, 16] where wool’s donation rate was substantially higher than its proportion of
virgin fibre supply.

Global Wardrobe

Male Female
13% 8%
Wool Wool

Figure 2 – Global Consumer Wardrobe Survey: Fibre Composition

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4 Collection and Sorting of Post Consumer Clothing

Reuse and recycling of clothing can only practically take place if garments are disposed of by users
at the end of life in such a way that items can be easily collected and kept out of municipal waste.
The majority of items from household or doorstep collections consist of clothing. Textile fabrics
are also sourced from commercial laundries that dispose of bed sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths,
when their life is exhausted.
Post consumer clothing enters the reuse/recycling supply chain by mechanisms such as:
(a) Doorstep collections,

(b) Clothing bank donations,

(c) Charity shop donations or,

(d) Take-back schemes.

The collection infrastructure is commonly operated by companies that are controlled by

charitable bodies, but the incentive for collection is predicated on the fact the donated
garments have a commercial value to the collector. For corporate clothing, brand owners
frequently control the end of life disposal of their garments, which frequently involves
shredding the items to remove any identifying emblems or labels even though they may be
perfectly wearable and not damaged. Recently, methods of quickly removing brand labels have
been developed that enable corporate brand owners to redirect garments for reuse rather than
recycling. [6]

Collection rates of post consumer clothing vary enormously by geographical region. The
infrastructure for the collection of garments for recycling and reuse is available in developed
countries where the consumption of clothing per capita as well as the quality of clothing is
high. In these high clothing-consuming countries, there is a growing awareness of the
environmental impact of clothing manufacture and end use (LOHAS consumer). Europeans
generate around 14m tonnes of textile waste of which 5m tonnes are recovered: three quarters of
this is reused, typically for wear in other countries, or recycled, mainly as wipers or used in
industrial applications [8]. Rates of collection in some Western European countries such as
Norway and Germany are among the highest because of high environmental consumer
awareness, national resource efficiency campaigns and a well established collection
infrastructure. Efforts are underway to increase collection rates in the USA, where only ca. 15% of
post consumer textile waste is donated or recycled, with the remaining 85% going to landfill [9],
based on data from the US Council for Textile Recycling. In China, collection rates are relatively
low, although there is growing awareness of the need to address the end of life disposal issues of
clothing, such that it was recently included in China’s 12th Five-Year Plan for textiles, to save
energy consumption and to improve environmental awareness. This is particularly noteworthy
given that China currently manufactures more than a quarter of the worlds production of clothing
and textiles [3], and this is expected to rise to over 50% in the future [10].
In 2015, despite millions of tonnes of clothing being diverted from landfill, collection rates across
all developed countries could be substantially increased. This would release a very large resource
of valuable textile fibre, which would represent a major step forward in terms of resource
efficiency. Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) consumers are a primary demographic
for wool textile product consumption. These consumers are environmentally conscious and
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socially responsible, and are more likely to donate their post-consumer waste to the recycling and
reuse collection system. The issues of perception and education are therefore important. For
example, in the collection of second-hand garments many consumers believe that they should only
donate clothing that they consider will be suitable for reuse [4] whereas in fact, worn out clothing
can still be valuable for open loop recycling into other industrial products.

4.1 Economics of Collection and Sorting

After collection, garments are sorted to identify items suitable for sale as reusable i.e. re-wearable,
as well as garments that are too worn or damaged for resale (Figure 3). Collected post-consumer
clothing is treated like any other commercial commodity. In general, garments suitable for reuse
have a higher economic value than recycling grades, i.e. low quality clothing, or clothing that is
worn out, stained or damaged. The estimated value of the total global trade in second-hand
garments more than doubled from $1.26bn in 2001 to $2.97bn in 2010, based on the UN
Commodity Trade Statistics Database. The financial returns that are generated by the sale of
reusable garments, effectively subsidises the collection and sorting of recycling grades, and is
critical to cover the cost of the entire collection infrastructure [4].

Figure 3 – Process flow for recycled and reused clothing

(domestic sales also includes sales to MDCs)

The price that sorters receive for recycling grades can be much less than the cost of collection and
sorting, but it is preferable to paying for disposal, which is the only other option. As new
applications for the recycling grades develop, demand can be expected to increase. A worrying
development for collectors has been the trend for consumers to sell their high value garments over
the internet rather than donating via doorstep collections or clothing banks. Although this is an
environmentally sustainable means of extending the life of a garment, it risks economically
destabilising the industrial collection infrastructure, which incurs costs for every tonne of clothing
that is collected and sorted.
Historically, sorting was carried out near to where the clothing is first collected. However, the
proportion exported to lower labour cost countries and developing countries such as India, Pakistan
or North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia) has substantially increased over the last twenty years. As
sorting operations formerly based in Western Europe and North America have become globalised,
post consumer clothing can either be exported unsorted, or sorted in locations such as Eastern
Europe and Special Economic Zones across the global south. These sorted clothes are often
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repacked and re- exported under successive different classifications until they reach their
destination markets. Globally, the USA, Germany, UK, South Korea and Canada account for more
than half of all post-consumer clothing exports [12].
The bulk of re-wearable clothing is sold and exported to less economically developed countries
(LEDCs), most commonly in Africa but this is not the only destination. Because of the warm
climate, heavier-weight garments such as wool knitwear and jackets that are not generally suitable
for reuse in Africa and are frequently directed to Eastern Europe instead. Over 90 countries around
the world consume used clothing that is deemed suitable for reuse, and in many African countries,
>80% of the population dress themselves in second-hand clothing [13]. High value and ‘diamond’
items (designer products) are identified during sorting and then sold by the charities and clothing
merchants directly to consumers or retailers in developed countries or in Eastern European markets
and other more developed countries (MDCs). Diamond items only account for approximately 1%
of the total volume of collected clothing, however they also account for the largest profit because
they can be resold in developed countries [11]. India imports >220,000 tonnes p.a. of used clothing
from the global consumer markets of the USA, Europe, the Far East and elsewhere for sorting and
reprocessing. [14]

5 Heirloom Clothing Items

In addition to the industrial collection, sorting, recycling and reuse infrastructure, it is known that
consumers tend to hold on to high-value articles of clothing for many years before passing them on
to friends and relatives. Such garments therefore remain in circulation for many years, passing
between different generations in some cases. The volume of garments treated in this way, as well
as their fibre composition, is not known based on currently available data, but it is reasonable to
assume that many will consist of wool.

6 Wool Fibre Recycling

The wool processing pipeline is essentially made up of a series of closed loop recycling steps
which continuously feeds waste wool fibre from one processing step to another throughout each of
the manufacturing stages during production. Textile waste can essentially be classified into two
distinct categories: post-industrial (pre-consumer) and post consumer waste (Figure 4).

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Figure 4 – Wool fibre processing steps showing recycling flows of post industrial and post
consumer wastes

The former consists of fibre, yarn and fabric waste generated during production, and cutting waste
from garment manufacture, whereas the latter is made up of clothing that is discarded by the
consumer due to damage, being worn out or simply out of fashion [19]. Post-industrial wool
processing waste is routinely recycled back into the manufacturing process flow, unlike post-
consumer waste, a large proportion of which may be discarded as waste.
Many garments that are unsuitable for reuse are recyclable. To recyclers, the fibre recyclate is an
important, cost-effective raw material that provides an alternative to using virgin fibre. Using wool
fibre recyclate alone or as a blend component, allows them to compete in a highly competitive
industrial market sector.
Unlike many textile fibres, used wool clothing has long been compatible with both open loop and
closed loop recycling processes, and commercially exploited as a raw material for at least two
hundred years. This traces its roots to Benjamin Law whose work led to the development of the
wool shoddy industry in ca. 1813 - one of the longest standing examples of post consumer product
recycling in the textile industry. Today, open loop mechanical recycling of wool is most common
(Figure 5).

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Figure 5 – Mechanical recycling of wool textile garments based on open and closed loop recycling

Shortly after shoddy was introduced, mungo was developed as a way of incorporating recycled
tailors clippings into the woollen processing pipeline. Historically, only woollen and worsted
fabrics have been used to make shoddy and mungo products.

6.1 Open-Loop Recycling of Post Consumer Wool Garments

Today, open loop recycling of wool is most common and involves mechanically pulling garments
back into raw fibre and using this as a feedstock to make new products. Frequently nonwoven
fabrics are using such materials by means of garneting or carding or airlaying of webs followed by
mechanical, thermal or chemical bonding.
Industrially developed countries within Europe, the USA and Asia purchase bales of clothing that
have been pre-sorted into different grades. Grading is typically based upon fibre composition and
colour shade. The commercial value of this material is a function of fibre composition, the
homogeneity (i.e. mixed waste is less valuable), colour/shade (which can affect any subsequent
dyeing operations) and whether it is knitwear or woven fabric waste, which influences the residual
fibre length that can be obtained after the pulling operation.
Some manufacturers specialise in pulling the waste and selling the resulting pre-processed fibre
recyclate to nonwoven fabric or yarn manufacturers. Alternatively, manufacturers purchase the
baled clothing directly, and use their own recycling facility to mechanically pull the clothing back
into fibre, before exploiting it as a raw material to manufacture new products. The latter approach
is common in the production of insulator pads supplied to mattress/furniture and automotive
product manufacturers, Figure 6.

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Figure 6 - Open loop recycling of wool for use in industrial products

Commercially, wool fibre recyclate extracted from knitwear remains a relatively valuable raw
material because of compatibility with woollen yarn manufacture. The price of a bale of mixed
colour wool sweaters in Europe has been of the order of ca. £350/tonne (35p/kg) compared to ca.
£87.5/tonne (8.75p/kg) for a bale of mixed synthetics. As a consequence the commercial value of
wool is highly dependent on its homogeneity (i.e. 100% wool of similar colours) and the degree to
which fibre length can be preserved after mechanical recycling.
For wool knitwear, additional sorting of items into uniform colours can assist with subsequent
dyeing processes or sorting to produce finer diameter wool batches can yield premium prices. The
economic feasibility of wool recycling, heavily favours large batch processing (min. 50 tonnes).
The low value of mixed synthetic material is due in part to the heterogeneous composition.
In contrast to wool knitwear, woven fabrics such as worsteds (jackets/suits, coats) yield a shorter
fibre after mechanical recycling (pulling), which means it is more difficult to use as a raw material
for yarn spinning. This recyclate, mixed with other recycled fibre finds uses in nonwoven fabrics
such as mattress insulator pads, where the wool content contributes to fire retardancy of the
product.
Wool fibre recyclate produced from unwearable garments finds its way into various applications.
Commonly, the resulting products consist of blends of fibre waste.
In some cases, there may be no absolute specification in terms of relative fibre content, however, in
products such as mattress insulator pads, at least a minimum wool content has been required to
meet flame retardancy requirements.

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Industrial products manufactured from post-consumer fibres extracted from clothing and which can
contain varying amounts of wool include:
- Nonwoven sound insulating materials for the automotive industry (e.g. body shell
liners for sound insulation, backings for face materials including the floor carpets,
boot/trunk liners);
- Nonwoven building insulation (thermal);
- Protective sheeting fabrics for painting;
- Mattress insulator pads (placed directly over the springs in mattresses to protect the
insulation layers that are laid above (Figure 7);
- Oil sorbents;
- Piano felts;
- Blankets (including emergency relief products);
- Rugs;
- Clothing: shawls and knitwear.

Figure 7 – Mattress insulator pad (grey layer) produced from a blend of recycled wool and mixed
fibres to protect against spring penetration.

Although open loop recycling may be viewed as downcycling because of the reduced economic
value of the new product compared to original clothing, it means the wool fibre is successfully
diverted into a second life, away from landfill. This is significant in terms of overall environmental
sustainability, because the usable life in years of the second use may be substantially longer than
that of the original item of clothing. For example, the active life of automotive sound insulation
can be >10 yr while insulator pads covering the spring unit in mattresses could be ca. 7 yr. This
enables recycled fibre to be cost-effectively substituted for what would otherwise be virgin fibre,
extending the overall operational lifecycle of the original wool material (Figure 8). Furthermore,
since the nonwoven processes that manufacture such products are less sensitive to short fibre
length and (compared to spinning processes), there is potential to recycle multiple times.

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Figure 8 – Extension of the operational life of wool fibre as a result of open-loop recycling

Based on these assumptions, the cradle-to-grave reality for wool could involve two or more lives
and increase the total usable or operational life for the fibre from ~5 years (for a wool garment) to
over 10 years depending on specific application conditions.

6.2 Closed-Loop Recycling of Wool Garments

Although recycling is not free of environmental impact the energy burden is insignificant in
comparison with the savings that can be made by off-setting production and processing of virgin
fibre. In terms of promoting environmental and economic sustainability, a challenge is to increase
rates of closed loop rather than open loop recycling. Economically, this means the second-life
product has a commercial value similar to the first. For the woollen industry this means the
inclusion of post-consumer waste (apparel and non apparel waste) as well as post-industrial waste
in the manufacture of new products. Ideally, post-consumer waste should be compatible with the
same carding, spinning and fabric manufacturing operations that are used for the virgin fibre.
Practically, this can be achieved if the wool fibre recyclate forms a blend component for the
manufacture of new yarns and fabrics. The basic steps in the process are summarized in Figure 9.

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Figure 9 – Example of closed loop recycling of wool garments

Spun yarns containing high post-consumer recycled wool fibre content, originating from
mechanically recycled wool knitwear, can be converted back in to garments. In this way, the wool
recyclate from knitwear provides a cost-effective fibre supply, enabling yarns to be manufactured
for a variety of high-value durable products. Examples of this closed loop approach are the Cardato
initiative in Italy, and M&S Shwop coat.

6.3 Environmental Impacts of Recycling and Reuse of Wool Knitwear

A study by DEFRA in the UK, indicated that approximately 84 million wool jumpers (42,000
tonnes) are reused in some form in the UK every year, which is about 50% of all the jumpers
reaching the end of their life each year. The remaining 50% were sent to recycling, energy
recovery or landfill. The key environmental, financial and employment benefits associated with
this reuse activity were listed as follows [20]:
- “Current levels for the reuse of jumpers avoids the production of 470,000 tonnes of
CO2e per year.
- Providing 1 tonne of jumpers for direct reuse e.g. charity shop or eBay can result in a
net Green house gas (GHG) saving of 9 tonnes of CO2e. This is just over 4.5kg of
CO2e per jumper.
- Providing 1 tonne of jumpers to a ‘preparation for reuse’ network can result in a net
GHG saving of 8 tonnes of CO2e. This is about 4kg of CO2e per jumper.
- In addition to the carbon benefits, there are also parallel resources and energy
savings as a result of reuse activity.
- Each reused jumper can yield over £1 net revenue to reuse organisations / government
in combination (discounting wider costs or losses to householders, offices or
business).
- Households could benefit by over £20m per year as a result of the sale of
items through reuse exchange, thus avoiding the purchase of (more expensive) new
items.
- The net employment benefits of dealing with all jumpers that reach the end of their
life today (business-as-usual) is 1,000 jobs”.

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Based upon DEFRA methodology (see: www.wrap.org.uk/benefitsofreuse), Figure 10 illustrates

how greenhouse savings change, if the lifetime of a jumper is longer than one year, (highlighted in
red). The greenhouse gas benefits of reuse increases three fold if all direct reuse displaced new
items for an equivalent lifetime (assumed to be 3 years).

Figure 10 - Effect of Changing the Duration of the Second Life of the Jumper 0.5-3 years

Note however, that unlike lower cost clothing, e.g. cotton T-shirts, reuse of ‘higher ticket’ clothing
such as those composed of wool is not as likely to lead to displacement of new wool products - the
price differential between a new and reused wool garment means that a like-for-like displacement
of products is unlikely. Therefore if a consumer purchases a low cost wool jumper in a charity
shop, it is unlikely that this purchase will displace the purchase of a new wool garment. Instead,
the purchase of the used wool jumper is more likely to displace a lower value equivalent such as a
cotton or man-made fibre garment [20].

6.4 Recycling of Corporate Clothing Containing Wool

Corporate clothing typically includes uniforms and other items that carry a visual identity
associated with a brand. A large proportion of the fibre content comprises polyester, but wool is
also extensively utilised, particularly in high quality uniforms and knitwear. In knitwear, blends
with acrylic are popular, and a large fraction is supplied in grey, black or navy. Wool is extensively
used in men’s and ladies’ corporate suit jackets and trousers, sometimes in blends with polyester
and elastane (typically lycra). Similarly, wool-rich or polyester-wool blends are utilised for ladies
corporate skirts and dresses.
It is common for wool corporate suiting fabrics to be treated with stain-resist chemistry. Corporate
garments in territories such as the UK carry a tax-tab, which enables recipients to avoid being
taxed for receiving a benefit in kind from their employer. Corporate clothing and workwear
frequently carry embroidered motifs, labels, printed emblems, logos, transfers or prints that ideally
need to be removed or destroyed to facilitate recycling. Because of the visual appearance,
aesthetics, presence of tax-tabs, emblems or logos on corporate garments, as well as the perceived
security risk of allowing their reuse by unknown users in the future, the bulk of corporate clothing
(>90%) is landfilled or incinerated at the end of life.
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Some brand owners will permit recycling, provided the garments are first mechanically shredded
to remove all identifying features. Interestingly, unlike high-street clothing, the supply, recovery
and maintenance of corporate clothing is frequently controlled by the brand-owner or by its agent.
This means that the end of life destiny of hundreds or even thousands of garments can be
controlled by one organisation and any new initiative in the recycling space can potentially have a
very large impact. Initiatives that could potentially greatly increase rates of wool recycling in
corporate garments, thereby minimising landfill and incineration include:
• Uniforms that are designed for the end-of-life as well as the use phase e.g. homogeneous
fibre composition, inbuilt de-labelling technology, garments that yield a longer fibre
length after shredding;
• Working in a co-design capacity with recyclers to develop higher-added value
applications for wool recyclates, as well as to establish likely volumes to enable the
most cost effective batch processing of garment waste (to maximise economic
efficiency for the recycler, incentivising them to innovate).
• Encouraging models that permit closed-loop recycling of wool-rich recyclates e.g. fibre
recyclates that can be used as a blend component in yarns to make new uniforms;
• Developing convenient systems to maximise the return and collection of corporate
garments from staff, cost-effectively (to improve collection rates).

7 Case Studies

Numerous clothing retailers and industrial groups have introduced initiatives to promote recycling
and reuse of textile and related products – many of which are using wool. Many of these initiatives
encourage consumers to donate used clothing or to purchase garments containing recycled fibre. At
the very least, these initiatives are raising consumer awareness about life cycle issues and resource
efficiency, including the longevity and end of life destiny of the products they buy. In addition it is
instructive to be aware of the manufacturers registered with the Textile Exchange who have
developed expertise in the manufacture of yarns and fabrics containing either post-industrial or
post-consumer fibre recyclates as blend components, including recycled wool.
Retailers and other organisations are fostering improvements in the environmental impact of
clothing using several different models:
• Endurance guarantees (life time guarantees on clothing products);
• In-store clothing deposits (making it easier to dispose of clothing responsibly);
• Take or buy back schemes (financial incentives to encourage donation of clothing);
• Eco product ranges (clothing consisting of recycled fibres and other recovered materials).

An overview of a selection of case studies is given below that illustrates the mechanisms that have
been developed to improve the environmental profile of clothing products. The examples
presented first, relate specifically to the recycling of wool garments, but non-wool specific
schemes are also included to highlight approaches that could inform developments in wool
recycling in the future.

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Cardato; Prato, Italy

• Certifies member companies that utilise a high proportion of regenerated or recycled
wool (>70%) in their yarns.
• Claimed to be the world’s first certified ‘zero emissions’ textile product.

Wool Again; Rhode Island, USA

• Market woollen yarns made from post consumer recycled wool (up to 80%).

BENU Wool; Christian Fischbacher Co. AG, St.Gallen, Switzerland

• Offer premium woven wool home furnishing fabrics manufactured from both industrial and
post consumer recycled wool.
• No additional fibre dyeing is undertaken, reducing water, waste, dyes and chemicals, and
energy consumption.

Shwopping; Marks and Spencer (M&S), UK

• Take-back scheme incentivising customers to bring back used M&S garments.
• Ability to certify the provenance of the post consumer recycled fibre.
• Workplace recycling - providing clothing deposit bins in workplaces.

H&M; Västeräs, Sweden

• Accept donated their clothing of any brand and any condition.
• Customers receive a voucher that can be redeemed in-store.

Jack & Jones; Oslo, Norway

• Take-back scheme incentivising customers to bring back used JACK & JONES items.
• Customers receive a voucher that can be redeemed in-store.
• Post-industrial waste is used to create low impact denim.

Klättermusen; Sweden
• rECOver clothing scheme - the label in the garment carries a redeemable value (this is
cut off by the consumer and returned to trigger the voucher).
• Manufacture clothing using recycled fibre.

NorrØna; Switzerland
• Up-cycled clothing range - clothing manufactured using recycled PET.
• About forty plastic bottles are used to make each up-cycled jacket.
• Estimate of 20% less energy to manufacture than a fleece made of virgin fibre, without
sacrificing performance.

Mammut; Dintikon, Switzerland

• In-store recycling for Mammut clothing only.
• Produce clothing using recycled PET (REPREVE® 100 yarn).

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Boardroom; Canada
• Recycled clothing – closed loop PET - the Eco® mark.
• Customers return ECO-apparel 100% Polyester for recycling and the money raised
is donated to a non-profit organization.

Rekixx; USA
• World’s first completely landfill free sneaker.
• Raw material inputs are lab-certified as 100% recyclable materials.
• The product does not require separation or disassembly - all parts can be recycled
togther

Patagonia; California, USA

• Sustainable fibres used in many products and aim to minimise packaging and
transportation waste.
• Returned Patagonia clothing is repaired at no cost where they are responsible and
charge a fair price for repairs due to normal wear and tear.
• Buy back clothing (good condition) for resale.
• Take back clothing – recycle into new clothing or make into new products.

Puma; Germany
• In-store recycling - take back any brand shoes, clothing & accessories.
• InCycle collection - manufactured clothing that contains either biodegradable or
recyclable materials (cradle to cradle basic certification).
• ‘Clever Little Bag’ introduced 2010 to replace traditional shoeboxes.
• Goal for 2015 is to have 50% of its international collections made of more
sustainable materials.

Nike; USA
• In-store recycling: clothing deposit bin for shoes.
• ‘reuse a shoe’ - collect worn out athletic shoes and grind down to create a new
material to make high-quality sports surfaces including courts, turf fields, tracks
and more.
• Produce many items of clothing from recycled PET - the 2014 world cup Brazilian
National Team kit was made from 100% recycled polyester (knit combining
cotton and PET).

Teijin Limited, Onward Holdings Co., Ltd. And Fuji Xerox Co; China
• First closed-loop recycling system for corporate clothing (uniforms) in China.
• Based on ECO CIRCLE scheme, which involves the chemical recycling of
polyester.

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8 Summary

The assumption that all wool garments are immediately discarded as municipal waste and
landfilled/incinerated at the end of life hides a more complex picture because of recycling
and reuse. At some point after purchase a garment is discarded because it no longer fits,
needs repairing, or it is no longer considered stylish or fashionable.
If wool clothing is placed in the domestic rubbish bin potentially valuable raw materials
are lost as a resource. However, if garments are donated or collected, they may be
recycled or reused. High collection rates therefore rely on consumers complying with
available disposal routes. Efforts to maximise collection rates depend upon educating
consumers not to dispose of clothing in the domestic rubbish, and as awareness has
increased, the volume of clothing that is diverted from landfill has increased in some
countries. If wool garments are not placed in the domestic rubbish bin, the end of life
destinations in order of preference for resource efficiency are: Re-use (wearable garments
sold to be worn again); Recycling (clothing used as raw materials for other
processes/products); Incineration (energy generation) or, Landfill.
Industrially, wool has been recycled for longer than any other fibre type, supported by a
shoddy and mechanical recycling industry that has been around for over two hundred
years. However, most LCA’s concerning wool have not considered the possibility of a
second use phase as a result of recycling or reuse of the fibre, weakening the utility of
LCA assessment. This oversight needs to be addressed not least because the demand for
wool fibre as a high quality ‘virtuous’ product targeting the growing LOHAS
demographic is dependent upon its eco-perception. From an environmental sustainability
perspective, the destiny of a wool garment after the user discards it, is critically important
if an accurate picture of the cradle-to-grave life cycle of the constituent wool fibre is to be
established.
Reuse grades typically attract a higher economic value than recycling grades, to such an
extent that revenues from the former effectively subsidise the collection of the latter as
well as the industrial infrastructure. Both open and closed loop recycling of wool
effectively extend the active life of the constituent fibre, potentially by many years
beyond the first use phase. Open loop mechanical recycling of wool is the most common
and involves pulling of garments back into raw fibre. Closed loop recycling of wool has
been commercially demonstrated to yield higher value products and has been
reinvigorated by new collaborations within the supply chain such as the M&S Shwop
scheme. Such schemes exploit long-standing geographical pockets of technical expertise
in wool fibre recycling.
Numerous industrial case studies have been identified that rely on one or more the
following mechanisms to raise consumer awareness of the benefits of recycling and
reuse, as well as to drive sales in a responsible manner: Endurance guarantees (life time
guarantees on clothing products); In-store clothing deposits (making it easier to dispose
of clothing responsibly); Take or buy back schemes (financial incentives to encourage
donation of clothing); Eco product ranges (clothing consisting of recycled fibres and
other recovered materials.
A number of data gaps need to be filled to enable the cradle-to-grave environmental impact of
wool to be fully considered. These relate to the size and value of the global wool garment
pool, the real active life of wool from cradle to grave, branding and marketing opportunities

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for recycled/reused wool and the need to reconnect with the global wool recycling and reuse
supply chain.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Australian woolgrowers through
Australian Wool Innovation Limited.

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