Post-Consumer Textiles (PCT) Collections and Logistics
- PCT Collection Trials
- Industry Roundtables
PCT Collection Trials
Every year, the UK generates over 1 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles (PCT). About a third of these are non-wearables textiles that end up in landfills or incineration. To give these textiles a second chance and empower consumers to bring them into the loop again, the project has launched various textile collection trials in collaboration with both project partners and external organisations.
These trials are part of a broader effort to gain insights on optimising post-consumer textile collections and improving the management of non-rewearable textiles for a more sustainable textile economy.
Retail carpark trial
Tesco and Salvation Army Trading Company Limited (SATCoL) has placed textile collection banks at 18 Tesco carparks and 2 household waste recycling centres in the Southeast of England. Consumers can visit these locations and easily donate wearable and non-wearable textiles in the designated banks. This trial will run until September 2024.
Retail/ charity postal trial
In partnership with Oxfam, Marks & Spencer offered its customers the chance to donate preloved clothing by mail for the first time. Customers were asked to separate rewearable and non-rewearable textiles into separate bags and sent these back using a prepaid courier service.
Retail postal trial
From September 2024 until October 3, 2024, Reskinned is providing a chance to responsibly dispose of unwanted clothing, regardless of the brand or condition. Interested individuals will need to sort the clothes as rewearable and recyclable and send these to Reskinned via post. Specific instructions can be found here.
Local authority trial
Kirklees Council in West Yorkshire, England has partnered with Textile Recycling International (TRI) to encourage its residents to donate their old clothing and textiles. There are 10 donation sites across Kirklees, each with two collection bins: one labelled “Too Good to Throw Away” for rewearable items and another labelled “Worn Out” for items that are no longer suitable for reuse and could be recycled. This trial will run until October 2024.
In-store trial
Crisis UK is running in-store textile collection trials in two of its stores (Peckham and Elephant & Castle) through October 2024. The charity invites the local community to donate their clothes and textiles by sorting them into two categories: ‘Wear Again’ for items in good condition and ‘Worn Out’ for those not suitable for reuse.
Postal trial
Home retailer Dunelm and SATCoL have partnered for a postal takeback service for home textiles and clothing. Interested Dunelm customers can sign up on the Dunelm website and receive a free shipping label with clear instructions on how to separate items that can be reused from those that are worn out and only suitable for recycling. The trial will run until December 2024.
Industry Roundtables
As part of the project, Reskinned also hosted a roundtable in June 2024 to explore innovative ways to capture the increasing amount of unwanted clothes and textiles in the UK and direct them towards a more circular fashion system.