RFPs: Advancing Recycling Technologies for Post-Consumer Textile Waste

The focus areas include fibre-to-fibre recycling technologies, post-consumer textile waste management, textile waste sorting and collection, blended textile materials, disassembly of complex textile products, separation of multi-material fibres, removal of coatings and contaminants, recycling of synthetic, semi-synthetic and natural fibre blends, microplastic reduction, chemical decontamination including PFAS removal, recyclability assessment, lifecycle assessment (LCA), lifecycle costing (LCC), Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach, industrial symbiosis, circular economy in textiles, and sustainable textile manufacturing.

The textile sector is identified as one of the highest-pressure industries in terms of raw material use, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and microplastic pollution. This topic supports the transition toward a circular economy by improving the end-of-life management of textile products, particularly those made from complex fibre blends used in apparel and home textiles.

Projects under this topic are expected to demonstrate and deploy innovative, market-ready solutions for the collection, sorting, and recycling of post-consumer textile waste. These solutions should enable efficient fibre-to-fibre recycling processes, including possible use of biotechnology-based approaches, to enhance material recovery and quality.

Proposals must focus on textile consumer products made from fibre blends such as polycotton and other combinations of synthetic, semi-synthetic, and natural fibres. They should also develop advanced techniques for disassembling complex textile products and separating multi-material layers to improve recyclability.

Projects are expected to assess the limits of textile recyclability by determining how many recycling cycles fibres can undergo. When fibre-to-fibre recycling is no longer viable, alternative applications must be explored to extend material value and minimise waste.

The scope includes detailed characterisation of post-consumer textile waste to support effective management strategies, particularly in contexts involving industrial and urban symbiosis. This ensures that recycling systems are adapted to different waste compositions and treatment environments.

Advanced recycling technologies should also address the removal of persistent hazardous chemicals, such as PFAS, while minimising the release of harmful substances and microplastics during processing to protect human health and the environment.

Lifecycle assessment and lifecycle costing methods must be used to validate the technical and economic feasibility of proposed solutions. These assessments should follow established methodologies, including Product Environmental Footprint approaches where applicable, and fully integrate the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework.

Projects are expected to contribute to the objectives of the Textiles of the Future partnership and coordinate with existing EU-funded initiatives and Horizon Europe projects in the textile sector.

The total funding available for this topic is €11,000,000, with individual project funding ranging between €5,000,000 and €6,000,000.

Eligibility is open to any legal entity regardless of place of establishment, including entities from non-associated third countries and international organisations, provided they comply with Horizon Europe Regulation requirements and other applicable conditions. A legal entity is any recognised natural or legal person with legal personality, or an entity without legal personality capable of exercising rights and obligations.

For more information, visit European Commission.