Sorting for Circularity Rewear

Explore the automation of sorting processes for rewearable textiles.

Develop a framework for scalable solutions.

Facilitate data-driven insights to inform industry and governmental action.

Desirability Overrides Physical Quality: While 37% of garments analysed in Europe had no damage and 41% had only minor flaws, physical condition is not the primary driver of resale value. Instead, value is dictated by subjective perceptions, specifically fashion trends and brand names associated to the garment. 

 The “Waste vs. Product” Opacity in Global Trade There is a significant lack of transparency in how textiles are classified during export. Items are often shipped under the HS 6309 code (worn clothing) to avoid stricter waste regulations, even if they are of poor quality or culturally misaligned. In Ghana’s Kantamanto Market, 86.5% of garments sampled from bales imported as “rewearable” actually showed some form of damage. This shifts the financial risk and environmental burden of waste management from the Global North to receiving communities.  

Repair and Reuse Economics Preparation for reuse (cleaning, de-pilling, and repair) remains a marginal activity because costs often outweigh potential profits. In the European pilot, only 18 out of 164 items achieved a positive margin after repair. Repair is currently only economically viable for high-value categories like outerwear and denim; for lower-value fast fashion, the “downward pressure” from cheap new clothing makes circular interventions financially unfeasible.  

Innovation as a Scalability Lever The report’s innovation pilots demonstrated that technology can improve the business case for Rewear: AI Sorting: Automated sorting can increase productivity by 40% and shift more materials into high-value “vintage” or “cream” categories, potentially increasing profit for a mid-sized sorter from zero to €6.5 million.  Digital Tools: Platforms like Save Your Wardrobe can reduce aftersales lead times from 21 days to 3 days, helping brands integrate repair as a core strategic service rather than a peripheral sustainability “add-on”.  

Rewear Cannot Solve Environmental challenges on its own  A central conclusion is that scaling Rewear business models will not yield sufficient impact if the industry does not simultaneously replace new production of clothing. Without upstream measures to slow down the “take-make-waste” model, Rewear risks becoming a parallel market that coexists with, rather than counters, environmental extraction.

Operationalise Rewear as a Core Business Objective

• Brands should embed rewear strategies into their core business strategy andshift Rewear from peripheral pilots to permanent business models with dedicated teams and specific revenue targets for secondhand and repair services.  
• Prioritize repair strategies for product categories with the strongest economic return, specifically outerwear and denim.  

Policy and Financial Incentives

• Policymakers should introduce eco-modulated EPR fees that reflect the actual costs of preparation-for-reuse and disincentivize the production of low-quality, “disposable” textiles.  
• Enable cross-border funding to  establish mechanisms that support actors in major export destinations such as Pakistan and Ghana, who currently bear disproportionate waste management burdens.  
• Update investment risk models,  financial institutions must integrate resource risks into oversight, recognizing the long-term value created through durability and material retention rather than volume-based growth.  

Scale Innovation through Collaboration

For example, adopting AI-enabled sorting increased yield and productivity and ultimately aims to increase the business case for domestic reuse.