How a Partnership in Kenya Recycled 100,000 Kilograms of Fashion Waste

The 'Closing the Loop on Textile Waste in Kenya' partnership, led by Enviu, PurFi, and Upset Sourcing East Africa, utilizes a chemical recycling technology to process textile waste into high-quality materials for new manufacturing. The initiative has sold 100,000 kg of textile cotton waste and employs a sorting team of women processing 36,000 kg per month. By collaborating with Kenya's Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), the partnership aims to integrate circular waste-to-value solutions into the country's expanding textile industry to reduce environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

• The fashion industry is a significant driver of environmental degradation, contributing between 4% and 10% of global emissions and acting as the second largest consumer of water. To limit warming to 1.5 degrees C, the sector must achieve an absolute emissions reduction of 45% by 2030, otherwise emissions are projected to reach 1.588 gigatons by that date.
• Kenya faces substantial textile waste challenges, with garment manufacturers producing approximately 400,000 tons of cotton waste annually. This waste often ends up in toxic dumps, and existing recycling methods typically result in 'downcycling' into lower-quality materials such as insulation or floor mats.
• The 'Closing the Loop' partnership employs a chemical recycling technology from the U.S. company PurFi that is significantly more efficient than traditional recycling, using 99% less water and up to 90% less energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The process is closed-loop, meaning recycling chemicals are absorbed back into the fabric.
• The initiative integrates social equity by employing previously unemployed women; the current all-women sorting team processes 36,000 kg of waste monthly, with a goal to reach 100,000 kg per month. To date, the partnership has sold 100,000 kg of textile cotton waste.
• To scale operations, the partnership is collaborating with Kenya's Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) to manage waste from existing and 450 new production lines. This aligns with Kenya's 'Big Four Agenda' to increase manufacturing jobs and living standards, especially as textile exports are projected to grow by 25% annually over the next five years.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). How a Partnership in Kenya Recycled 100,000 Kilograms of Fashion Waste. https://www.wri.org/insights/closing-loop-textile-waste-recycling-kenya

Chicago

World Resources Institute. How a Partnership in Kenya Recycled 100,000 Kilograms of Fashion Waste. 2021. https://www.wri.org/insights/closing-loop-textile-waste-recycling-kenya.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=How a Partnership in Kenya Recycled 100,000 Kilograms of Fashion Waste |date=2 December 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/closing-loop-textile-waste-recycling-kenya |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021how, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{How a Partnership in Kenya Recycled 100,000 Kilograms of Fashion Waste}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/closing-loop-textile-waste-recycling-kenya}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }