A group of major global fashion brands, including adidas, H&M Group, Inditex, and BESTSELLER, alongside the circular economy advocate The Or Foundation, have launched the Apparel Recovery Coalition (ARC). This initiative has been established to address the mounting environmental and social challenges associated with the export of post-consumer textiles, particularly to countries in the Global South.
The textile industry is facing unprecedented pressure over its waste footprint, a significant portion of which consists of synthetic fibres like polyester. As international governments tighten regulations on waste exports and circular economy targets, brands are being forced to take greater responsibility for the end-of-life phase of their products. The ARC intends to develop scalable circular infrastructure, improve transparency, and establish funding mechanisms to manage and recycle these materials, reducing the reliance on landfilling or burning exported garments.
For UK waste management firms and Turkish recyclers, this coalition signals a critical shift in the supply chain for synthetic polymers. Polyester represents a major portion of both textile waste and the recycled PET (rPET) market. As brands invest in regional recovery schemes, UK waste companies may see stricter sorting requirements and new commercial opportunities to capture synthetic textiles before they are exported. For Turkish recyclers, who are major processors of imported polymer waste and key suppliers of rPET to European markets, the push for high-quality, traceable feedstocks will intensify. This initiative underscores the need for recyclers to align their operations with emerging circularity standards and prepare for stricter export controls on mixed synthetic waste.
As a practical takeaway, UK and Turkish operators should prepare for stricter Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks that will eventually bridge the gap between packaging and textile plastics, making cross-sector material traceability and advanced sorting technologies essential for future compliance.
