Transparency in the recycling supply chain instills consumer confidence when it comes to donations and secondhand outcomes. | Neenawat Khenyothaa / Shutterstock
Editor’s Note: Diversion Dynamics is a monthly column exploring partnerships that drive recycling.
Learn more about EPR and the California Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707) at the Textiles Recovery Summit, February 23-25, in San Diego, California.
As seasons change, so do fashion trends, contributing to 92 million metric tons of textile waste globally. Today’s consumer habits are generating textile waste on a Mount Everest-sized scale, far beyond that pile of clothes on your bedroom chair.
With the average person wearing a single item of clothing just seven times, it’s no wonder the world is grappling with mountains of textiles. Add to that the fact that the average t-shirt requires 2,700 liters of water to produce, it’s no surprise eyes are turning towards circular solutions for textiles.
Since the beginning of 2025, European Union (EU) countries are under mandates to collect textiles for reuse and recycling under the Waste Framework Directive. In September, the EU approved an extended producer responsibility (EPR) law that requires manufacturers of “clothing, accessories, hats, footwear, blankets, linens, curtains and optionally mattresses” to cover the cost of recycling their products. And those regulations extend to textiles sold online and to producers registered outside of the EU.
While EPR for textiles has existed for years in some European countries, across the ocean in the United States, California recently became the first state in the nation to pass an EPR law targeting textiles, and other states are seeking solutions to the 17 million tons of fabrics and clothing that enter the nation’s landfills each year.
Eye-Opening Ohio Pilot
Having recently attended DIVERT Ohio, I learned about a small but eye-opening pilot project in Central Ohio that is unveiling consumer behaviors when it comes to textile collection.
A partnership was created between Lisa Goldsand, founder of Circular Thrift, the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO), Goodwill Columbus and textile recycler Leigh Fibers to ramp up a shift from a linear system to a more circular, sustainable one through a transparent regional collection process.
The dynamic is simple: set up different collection stations with varying times and accepted types of clothing. However, the data generated will offer a big glance into residential interest, the willingness to self sort, the level of effort necessary to reduce contamination and the types of materials consumers are throwing away.
SWACO funded the 90-day pilot project, which ran throughout summer 2025 in five communities across Franklin County, with 14 pop-up events and four drop-off locations with varying hours they were open. Early estimates indicate 22,007 lbs of clothing were collected, and a unified social media campaign brought in an estimated $2 million of unpaid engagement.
The direct partnership with Leigh Fibers, the nation’s largest textile processor based in Wellford, South Carolina, aimed to boost consumer confidence in the textile recycling program, addressing concerns about items ending up in random collection bins to landfills, rather than being properly recycled.
While a detailed report will be released once final counts are in, it is these types of partnerships that are the most beneficial – when the supply chain from curb to recycled product is transparent and all stakeholders are involved. It no longer becomes a “feel good” action, but works to dispel myths that have caused confusion when it comes to proper textile recycling.
With greenwashing a common phrase and sustainability becoming more part of the American vernacular, transparency is one key to opening the door to scaling circular solutions. The fact is, consumers want to see what happens when their residuals drive away, and partnerships such as this one in Central Ohio are one step to a foundation of trust, leading to better consumer habits and a sustainable future.
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