Survey of textile fiber waste

Faheem Uddin

doi:10.24294/jpse026140007

Home - JPSE - Volume 9 - Issue 1

Submit to JPSE

Journal Browser

Volume | Year

Issue

• Current lssue

View All

News and Announcements

View All

Survey of textile fiber waste

Faheem Uddin

Journal of Polymer Science and Engineering 2026, 9(1), 026140007; https://doi.org/10.24294/jpse026140007

Submitted：04 Apr 2026

Accepted：16 Jun 2026

Published：03 Jul 2026

Download PDF(2.17M)

Cite

XML

EndNote(RIS)

BibTeX

RefMan

Refworks

Abstract

Textile fiber waste in Pakistan is significantly produced; however, studies are needed to direct the reuse or recycling. This study demonstrated the preliminary market- based survey findings in the production of pre-consumer textile fiber waste, its collection, and the possible reuse in developing a new garment. Presently, this waste is mainly disposed of through burning or landfilling, creating an increased environmental footprint. This survey enhances the understanding of textile waste production for collecting, sorting and using in new garment making. The waste is collected from 35 commercial places in Karachi. Collected fabric pieces were used in the garment design by patchwork, and one case is demonstrated. The use of fiber dimensions, type, color, and variety found in the survey was demonstrated through a case study. It was found that the pre-consumer textile waste can be used in garment development through patch or applique designs. Several case studies were performed to apply waste fabric pieces in the design and development of fashion garments. Finally, one case study is demonstrated using patchwork to show the importance of waste fabric in garment making.

Keywords

References

1.Uddin F, Umer K, Anjum ST. Textile solid waste in product development studies. Chemical Reports. 2022; 3(1):203-209. doi:10.25082/cr.2021.01.005

2.Das B, Dwivedi S. Post-consumer textile waste management practices and challenges in India: A systematic literature review. Journal of Scientometric Research. 2024; 13(2):419-429. doi:10.5530/jscires.13.2.33

3.Sumo PD. Textile waste management and recycling opportunities and challenges for Africa: A mini review. Holistic Approach to Environment. 2024; 14(2):57-70. doi:10.33765/thate.14.2.3

4.Tang KHD. State of the art in textile waste management: A review. Textiles. 2023; 3(4):454-467. doi:10.3390/textiles3040027

5.Gupta R, Kushwaha A, Dave D, Mahanta NR. Chapter 10 - Waste management in fashion and textile industry: Recent advances and trends, life-cycle assessment, and circular economy. In: Hussain CM, Singh S, Goswami L, eds. Emerging Trends to Approaching Zero Waste. Elsevier; 2022: 215-242. doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-85403-0.00004-9

6.Sanjrani MA, Gang X, Mirza SNA. A review on textile solid waste management: Disposal and recycling. Waste Management & Research. 2024. doi:10.1177/0734242X241257093

7.Stanescu MD. State of the art of post-consumer textile waste upcycling to reach the zero waste milestone. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2021; 28: 14253-14270. doi:10.1007/s11356-021-12416-9

8.Sinha P, Dissanayke DGK, Abeysooriya RP, Bulathgama BHN. Addressing post-consumer textile waste in developing economies. The Journal of The Textile Institute. 2022; 113(9):1887-1907. doi:10.1080/00405000.2021.1954428

9.Uddin F. Enhancing the circular economy in textile fiber waste recycling. Materials Circular Economy. 2025; 7: 33. doi:10.1007/s42824-025-00190-9

10.Uddin F. Concern in circular economy of the textile fiber waste for local industry. Materials Circular Economy. 2025; 7: 47. doi:10.1007/s42824-025-00201-9

11.Damayanti D, Wulandari LA, Bagaskoro A, Rianjanu A, Wu HS. Possibility routes for textile recycling technology. Polymers. 2021; 13(21):3834. doi:10.3390/polym13213834

12.Büyükaslan E, Jevšnjk S, Kalaoglu F. Marmara Fen Bilimleri Dergisi. 2015; 27: 107-111. doi:10.7240/mufbed.43773

13.Bukhonka NP, Pesic M, Nemesa I, Radovancevic D, Bozoki V. An analysis of the current state of pre-consumer textile waste in textile manufacturing: A case study. Research Journal of Textile and Apparel. 2026; ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). doi:10.1108/RJTA-07-2025-0157

14.Özen İ, Bahtiyari Mİ, Demiryürek O, et al. Sustainable production applications on textile-to-textile recycling of pre-consumer textile waste in light of emerging trends. Fibers and Polymers. 2025; 26: 4691-4714. doi:10.1007/s12221-025-01154-1

15.Azad AK, Haq UN, Khairul Akter MM, Uddin MA. Recycling practices of pre-consumer waste generated from textile industry. In: Muthu SS, ed. Sustainable Manufacturing Practices in the Textiles and Fashion Sector. Sustainable Textiles: Production, Processing, Manufacturing & Chemistry. Springer; 2024. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-51362-6_12

16.McCauley E, Jestratijevic I. Exploring the business case for textile-to-textile recycling using post-consumer waste in the US: Challenges and opportunities. Sustainability. 2023; 15(2):1473. doi:10.3390/su15021473

17.Riba JR, Cantero R, Canals T, Puig R. Circular economy of post-consumer textile waste: Classification through infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2020; 272: 123011. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123011

18.Arafat Y, Jalal UA. Recycled fibers from pre- and post-consumer textile waste as blend constituents in manufacturing 100% cotton yarns in ring spinning: A sustainable and eco-friendly approach. Heliyon. 2022. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11275

19.Jayalakshmi S, Sundararaman B. Pre-consumer textile waste—A study and design development. In: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology Practices for Sustainable Development (ICSETPSD 2023). Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India; November 17-18, 2023. doi:10.4108/eai.17-11-2023.2342636

20.Xu B, Chen Q, Fu B, Zheng R, Fan J. Current situation and construction of recycling system in China for post-consumer textile waste. Sustainability. 2022; 14(24):16635. doi:10.3390/su142416635

21.Anon. Industry Report: Pakistan's textile recycling—From waste to value. Reverse Resources. 2025. Accessed January 2, 2026. https://reverseresources.net/from-waste-to-value-unlocking-pakistans-textile-recycling-potential/

22.Akter MK, Haq UN, Azad AK, et al. Material circularity of pre-consumer textile solid waste: Learning from Bangladesh. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation. 2025; 4(4):e0000168. doi:10.1371/journal.pstr.0000168

23.Santos PS, Campos LMS, Vazquez-Brust DA. Textile waste management practices in the garment industry: A circular economy perspective. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. Sao Paulo, Brazil; April 5-8, 2021.

24.Morell-Delgado G, Talens Peiró L, Toboso-Chavero S. Revealing the management of municipal textile waste and citizen practices: The case of Catalonia. Science of the Total Environment. 2024; 907: 168093. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168093

25.Manivannan AC, Bhatnagar A, Niinimäki K, Panneerselvan L, Palanisami T. Evaluating textile waste management policies: Lifecycle gaps and opportunities for improvement. Waste Management & Research. 2025; 0(0). doi:10.1177/0734242X251393613

26.Dissanayake DGK, Weerasinghe D. Managing post-industrial textile waste: Current status and prospects for Sri Lanka. The Journal of The Textile Institute. 2021; 112(11):1804-1810. doi:10.1080/00405000.2020.1845461

27.Kazakevičiūtė G, Ramanauskienė R, Abraitienė A. A survey of textile waste generated in Lithuanian textile, apparel and soft furniture industries. Environmental Research, Engineering and Management. 2008; 44(2).

28.Noman M, Batool SA, Chaudhary MN. Economic and employment potential in textile waste management of Faisalabad. Waste Management & Research. 2013; 31(5):485-493. doi:10.1177/0734242X12474711

29.Allah A, Iqbal J. Solid waste management at gas fired electric powered plant: A case of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Journal of Global Ecology and Environment. 2022; 16(4):223-230. doi:10.56557/jogee/2022/v16i47952

30.Krishnaraj G, Elangovan N. Sustainable textile waste management practices among consumers: Implications of textile knowledge and environmental concerns. Journal of Indian Association for Environmental Management. 2022; 42(3):21-28.

31.Nergis Y, Sharif M, Akhtar NA, Hussain A. Quality characterization and magnitude of pollution implication in textile mills effluents. Journal of the Institute of Quality and Technology Management. 2009; V(II). http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/iqtm/PDF-FILES/paper_3_VolumeV_%20Issue_II_Dec_2009.pdf

32.Çavdar Ö, Yıldız Z, Naghshineh AK. Investigation of new mixtures based on natural rubber and nitrile-butadiene rubber for high damping base isolation systems. Journal of Elastomers & Plastics. 2025; 57(5):656-671. doi:10.1177/00952443251328185

Previous
article in this issue

Next
article in this issue