Check any recent study of younger consumers – even older ones in the baby boomer and Gen X generations – and you’ll find that most people are overwhelmingly in favor of recycling their clothing and soft home products. Making it happen is the hard part.
New research from McKinsey & Co., the well-known consulting company, reports that globally only about a third of unwanted apparel is collected. And of those less than one percent is recycled into new clothes, according to the UK non-profit Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The systems and structures to recycle these products are increasingly being put into place by such global brands as Uniqlo, Levi and The Gap but so far the efforts have yet to pay off at a meaningful scale. Companies can only recycle what is returned to them and for many consumers, trash cans and ultimately landfills are just the default solution. One recent study found that 82 percent of garments are thrown away in the U.S. In Europe, it’s only slightly better, at 60 percent.
Cyndi Rhoades, the CEO of a recycling company called Worn Again, said in a recent interview that while consumers are finally awakening to the problem the solutions are still not there for mass acceptance. Making a distinction that might not be widely accepted yet, she discussed her company’s efforts in this area with new technology. “Sustainability is about doing things a little bit better; circularity is about systems change.” Her company is working on a new process that starts these efforts at the materials level rather than the finished product, which she believes may help the movement along.
“Lack of progress,” she said, “is what has engendered cynicism.”