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A new project in Europe will develop a deposit return system for used textiles in Europe, using automated collection containers.
Funded with €6 million ($7 million) from the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program, the TexMat initiative will reward consumers for returning items for reuse or recycling and alert producers when discarded textiles are suitable only for incineration or landfilling. The total cost of the project is about €7.66 million.
Automated collection containers will use digital product passports to sort items, assessing their quality and capturing key information about the materials. Digital product passports – which are typically a scannable QR code that provides data including raw materials the product contains – are entering a phased introduction in the EU. Garments and footwear are among the first wave of products to be mandated from 2027, when the sector’s EU’s extended producer responsibility program takes effect. France, Sweden and the Netherlands already operate textile EPR programs.
The automated collection bins will also separate garments suitable for reuse from those destined for disposal.
Spanish robotics firm Rovimatica, Italian automation company STAM SRL and Spanish spectroscopy firm IRIS Technology Solutions are collaborating to develop the smart container and related digital tools, including data-driven solutions to analyze public perception and policy developments for textile circularity, contributed by Dutch consultancy YAGHMA.
The initiative runs through March 2029 and includes 14 partners from seven EU member states, representing research and academia, civil society and textile reuse organizations, plus industry partners from the entire textiles value chain.
Estonian smart textile manufacturer Protex Balti is collaborating on the integration of digital product passports into garments. Pilot programs in Finland and Spain will help fine-tune the system and inform scalability efforts across the EU.
In a statement, Elina Ilén, TexMat project leader at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, said the system “has great potential to transform the collection and resale of used but still valuable garments, supporting second-hand markets while enabling consumers to monetise their textiles. By developing a cost-effective, robust, and user-friendly solution, we aim to relieve consumers of the need to evaluate which garments can be resold for reuse or recycling.”
In 2022, Europeans generated an estimated 6.94 million metric tons of textile waste, or about 16 kilograms (35 pounds) per person, according to the press release. Of the total, around 11 kg (24 pounds) per person were not separately collected and typically ended up mixed with household waste headed for landfills or incineration.
