Bangladesh is a key sourcing country for the global garment industry and generates significant volumes of post-industrial textile waste. While much of this waste has recycling potential, the systems needed to collect, classify and recycle it in a traceable way are still developing.
To better understand these challenges and opportunities, we participated in the SWITCH to Upstream Circularity Pilot in Bangladesh. The pilot was delivered under the EU‑funded SWITCH to Circular Economy Value Chains (SWITCH2CE) programme. UNIDO led the pilot with support from Global Fashion Agenda, BGMEA, and Reverse Resources.
What does it take for Bangladesh to progress towards textile recycling at scale?
At the start of the pilot, it was clear that suppliers generated substantial amounts of recyclable cotton, but most textile waste was not segregated in detail, and fibre composition was rarely recorded. This limited recyclers’ ability to assess feedstock quality and put the brakes on investments in recycling capacity.
Therefore, the pilot focused on:
- Improving waste segregation practices at factory level
- Increasing data availability and traceability of textile waste
- Developing strong business cases
- Fostering industry-wide recognition of recycling opportunities
Key learnings
The pilot reinforced that Bangladesh has both the material volumes and manufacturing capabilities needed to support textile recycling. At the same time, it highlighted several barriers.
- Recycled fibres continue to be more expensive than virgin alternatives, limiting uptake in the absence of market incentives or supportive policy frameworks
- Outside the pilot, waste quality and traceability remain inconsistent, which continues to limit recyclers’ ability to scale
- While recycling capacity is growing, it is not yet sufficient to absorb the rising volumes of segregated material
- Though the pilot suppliers have adopted more robust digital systems, widespread adoption across the sector is necessary to take hold at national scale
The pilot expanded
The pilot began in early 2023 with seven of our suppliers and gradually expanded to include 20 manufacturing facilities. Additionally, the number of waste handlers and recyclers also increased from two to 27 handlers and 26 recyclers.
As more actors were involved through various trainings, the volume of segregated material increased from 129 tonnes when the pilot started, to more than 16,000 tonnes, in less than three years.
This growth reflected both improved segregation practices and a growing recognition among suppliers that higher-quality waste streams could hold tangible commercial value.
“Through this pilot, UNIDO worked with a global brand and local suppliers to demonstrate how circular economy innovations can strengthen the competitiveness of Bangladesh’s textile industry. The project revealed a strong supplier appetite for improved waste segregation, transparency, and traceability - critical enablers of a circular transition. These insights are now feeding directly into tailored policy advice to help address institutional barriers and scale effective circular solutions at national level.”
Mark Draeck, SWITCH2CE Chief Technical Advisor, UNIDO
What happens next?
The SWITCH to Upstream Circularity pilot has now concluded, but the learnings continue.
They underline both the potential and the complexity of building more circular systems – and the importance of approaching this work with realism, collaboration and long‑term perspective.