M&S, New Look and Sainsbury’s have joined forces with Oxfam and Circle-8 to launch The Circuit, a new initiative aimed at developing circular textile supply chains from UK-generated end-of-use clothing.

The partnership brings together retailers, textile recovery specialists, automated sorting providers, recyclers, digital innovators and manufacturers to develop routes for turning non-reusable textiles into raw materials for future fibre-to-fibre recycling.

The first phase will begin in January 2027 at Oxfam’s site in Batley, Yorkshire and will focus on automated sorting, traceability, identifying opportunities for recovered materials and developing relationships with recyclers, alongside testing operating models for future expansion.

Oxfam will separate reusable and non-reusable textiles and operate the automated sorting equipment, building on its experience in textile recovery and reuse, while Circle-8 is designed to develop the infrastructure, partnerships and commercial frameworks connecting post-consumer textile recovery with emerging circular material markets.

Oxfam retail director Rachel Cosgrove-Pearce said: “Oxfam has been giving clothes a second life for almost 80 years, and our experience tells us that keeping clothing in use for as long as possible is one of the most effective ways to reduce fashion’s impact on our planet.

“But we also urgently need better solutions for textiles that can no longer be worn or reused. Developing the infrastructure to recover valuable fibres from end-of-use textiles is an important part of building a fashion system that uses fewer virgin resources and creates less environmental harm, and The Circuit brings together the expertise and investment needed to move this forward at scale. We’re proud to be playing our part, building on Oxfam’s long history of textile recovery and our work at Batley.

“At M&S, we believe the most sustainable clothing is clothing that is worn and loved for longer,” said M&S head of sustainability and materials in fashion, home and beauty Katharine Beacham.

“Through Plan A for Another Life, we have an ambition to give 5 million items Another Life by 2030 through rewear, repair, resale and recycling.

“However, when textiles reach the end of their usable life, we need better solutions to recover and recycle the materials they contain.

“The Circuit is an important step forward, bringing together organisations from across the retail industry to help create viable routes for non-reusable textiles and support a more circular future for fashion.”

Sainsbury’s Tu Clothing managing director Ben Smith added: “Creating a more circular future for textiles will take collaboration and innovation across the whole industry.

“The Circuit is an exciting opportunity to work alongside partners from across the value chain to explore how post-consumer textiles generated here in the UK can be given a new life as valuable raw materials. For Tu at Sainsbury’s, it’s about learning, testing practical solutions and helping shape a more circular textiles economy for the future.”

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