Threading the loop: Textile recycling and fibre recovery

This industry brief by GreenCape examines the potential for textile recycling and fibre recovery in Cape Town, South Africa. It argues that transitioning from a linear to a circular textile economy can futureproof the local clothing, textile, footwear, and leather (CTFL) sector against global supply chain volatility and environmental pressures. The document identifies two primary opportunities: establishing a commercial open-loop downcycling hub and developing Africa's first commercial-scale closed-loop fibre-to-fibre recycling facility.

• Cape Town has a significant volume of textile waste available for recovery, with approximately 70,310 tonnes of textiles landfilled in 2022, representing about 6.38% of the 1.1 million tonnes of waste disposed of at municipal landfills.
• The South African CTFL industry is currently a net importer of textiles and finished products; in 2022, imports were valued at R60.2 billion compared to R20.8 billion in exports.
• There is a strategic opportunity to establish a commercial open-loop recycling hub in Cape Town to process over 70,000 tonnes of textile waste annually into products such as insulation, underfelt, and rescue blankets, driven by high landfill tipping fees and limited airspace.
• The document identifies a medium-to-long-term opportunity to create Africa's first commercial-scale closed-loop fibre-to-fibre recycling facility, which would reduce reliance on volatile global commodity prices and imported fibres.
• A critical barrier to the growth of the textile recycling sector is the lack of meaningful waste data, as textile waste was excluded from the 2017 State of Waste Reporting and the 2020 National Waste Management Strategy (NWMS).
• The Retail-CTFL Masterplan serves as a blueprint for localising South Africa's value chain, with a 2030 vision to reach retail sales of R225 billion and manufacturing supply of R67 billion of retail purchases.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). Threading the loop: Textile recycling and fibre recovery. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Textile-recycling-and-fibre-recovery_industry_brief.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Threading the loop: Textile recycling and fibre recovery. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Textile-recycling-and-fibre-recovery_industry_brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Threading the loop: Textile recycling and fibre recovery |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Textile-recycling-and-fibre-recovery_industry_brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendthreading, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Threading the loop: Textile recycling and fibre recovery}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Textile-recycling-and-fibre-recovery_industry_brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }