NEXT, Primark and Tesco are backing an industry-wide initiative to redesign the UK's textile collection system.

WRAP has published the first output of its Textiles Collection Transition Programme, funded by key stakeholders. The programme aims to change how post-consumer textiles are collected, sorted, reused and recycled in the UK.

The Textiles Collections Transition Programme is WRAP’s collaborative programme uniting leading brands and stakeholders across the supply chain to redesign post-consumer collections. The programme aims to maximise the value of post-consumer textiles by keeping more textiles out of residual waste and dry mixed recycling, retaining their value through reuse, better enabling fibre-to-fibre recycling processes and supporting a fair, transparent and financially sustainable sector.

Research carried out by WRAP found that nearly half (49 per cent) of all post-consumer textiles are disposed of in the residual waste with 546,000 tonnes binned by UK homes.

With investment from Next, Primark and Tesco funding phase one of the programme, the resulting publication Transformative Practice in Textiles Collection represents a key moment, providing different solution options to help stakeholders find better ways to collect textiles to maximise their value, and help businesses and organisations transform how they think about and value post-consumer textiles.

Now, the programme will move into the practical co-design phase and a series of stakeholder workshops to develop a co-designed programme for impact, the Blueprint to be published in Spring 2027.

Catherine David, CEO, WRAP said “Transforming textile collections is an industry-wide challenge that no organisation can solve alone. By investing in this programme, NEXT, Primark and Tesco are showing the leadership needed to move from ambition to action and help build a system that works for the whole sector.”

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