Fashion brands form coalition to tackle textile waste

Adidas, H&M and a cluster of unnamed peers have formed the Apparel Recovery Coalition to address textile waste and circular pathways. The move sits squarely within fashion's existing pressure zone: production footprints that dwarf most other sectors, disposal infrastructure that barely exists, and a public increasingly tired of greenwashing claims. A coalition alone does not move material. What matters is whether member brands commit capital to textile collection, sorting, and reprocessing infrastructure – or whether this becomes another signalling exercise dressed as action. The fashion industry produces roughly 92 million tonnes of textile waste annually; most ends in landfill. The gap between coalition launch and actual circularity is still measured in years and billions of pounds of uncommitted investment. The real test arrives when members must choose between margin pressure and genuine material diversion. Circular fashion requires infrastructure that doesn't yet exist at scale, labour models that don't yet stack economically, and consumer behaviour change that regulation alone won't force. A coalition is a necessary starting point. It is not yet proof that any of these barriers will move.

Major fashion brands launch coalition to tackle textile waste, boost circularity

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