Textile reuse And recycling: why the economics need fixing
Reuse is under pressure from three directions, and sorting for recycling still doesn't pay. At Textile Exchange Conference 2026 in Vancouver, Looper CEO Erik Lagerblad set out what that means for collectors, sorters and brands, and what needs to change.
What does the move to a circular textile industry look like from the side of a collector and sorter?
On a panel at Textile Exchange in Vancouver, Erik brought the discussion back to practical realities: what arrives in collected volumes, what can go on to a next use, and what it costs to prepare the rest for textile recycling.
His central point: more collection and better recycling technology will not, by themselves, create a working circular system. The businesses connecting those stages must also cover their costs, invest in their capabilities and find buyers for what they produce.
1. A “triple whammy” is putting textile reuse under pressure
Erik described three pressures hitting collectors and sorters at the same time, affecting both the quality of incoming textiles and the markets for secondhand clothing.
Fewer high-value garments are being collected. Consumers increasingly sell their best items through online resale platforms. That makes sense for the individual, and it means the mix arriving at our sorting facilities is shifting, and sorting has to adapt.
More ultra-fast fashion is coming in. These garments generally have low resale value, so less value can be recovered through reuse.
Ultra-fast fashion competes with secondhand in sales markets. The pressure doesn't stop at the sorting facility. Reusable garments must find buyers in markets where new clothing is very cheap.
The result is pressure from both ends. It's also why collection volumes alone don't tell the full story: what those volumes contain, and what it can be resold for, matters just as much.
2. Reuse comes first, but recycling still needs investment
Asked why recycling matters to Looper if reuse comes first, Erik was candid. He would like recycling to play a larger role, but the economics currently make further investment difficult.
He also expects European legislation to bring more textiles into collection. That means a lower-quality collection mix overall and a larger share of material that needs recycling. Preparing for that shift is necessary, even while reuse remains the priority.
Looper isn't starting from zero. It already runs an automated sorting line, in development since [verify: 2023], and could invest further if the economics supported it.
The point isn't recycling versus reuse. A system that puts reuse first still needs a viable route for what can't be reused.
3. The missing link is the economics of textile sorting
Erik walked through what happens to textiles in Looper's system, from collection through pre-sorting and fine sorting. Every stage costs money.
Transport and processing are the main cost drivers, and labour costs in Germany add to them. Meanwhile, demand for material sorted for recycling is very low, and the prices on offer don't cover the cost of sorting.
Asking recyclers to simply pay more isn't realistic. At current fibre prices, many have no room to absorb higher feedstock costs.
That's why Erik kept coming back to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). He called for EPR funding that makes sorting for recycling economically viable, including eco-modulation “on the receiving end”, so that sorters are paid for doing this work.
Sorting is not just a step before recycling. It has real costs, and those costs need a place in how the circular system is financed.
4. Europe needs harmonised EPR, not 27 different systems
Erik highlighted Europe's strengths: a strong innovation ecosystem and continued investment in promising technologies. The question isn't a lack of ideas. It's whether the conditions around them allow them to scale.
His main concern was the risk of 27 different EPR systems inside what is meant to be a single market. He called for harmonisation, so that businesses building collection, sorting and recycling capacity can plan across borders.
Or, as Erik put it: “Fix the economics and investment will come.”
5. Brands should create demand for sorted material now
Erik's clearest ask to brands and manufacturers: create demand for material sorted for recycling today, not once chemical recycling reaches commercial scale.
Pilot capacity and mechanical recycling capacity already exist. Yet demand for Looper's sorting-for-recycling volumes is close to zero.
Waiting leaves a gap. Sorting systems, operational experience and supply relationships can't be built overnight when a new technology arrives. Demand today lets sorters refine their processes and be ready when recycling scales.
The takeaway: circularity has to work commercially
Reuse faces lower-quality supply and tougher competition. Recycling matters more each year, but sorting for it doesn't yet pay. Europe has the innovation, but needs coherent rules. And brands can create demand before the next generation of recycling technology arrives.
Collection, sorting, reuse and recycling all have to work, not just technically but commercially. Making those links viable is how the industry moves from ambition to a system that works today.