For more than 100 years, the textile industry has economised on the use of more costly primary raw materials by recycling woollen cloth and fibres. The technique of 'pulling', in which cloth is taken apart and the fibres separated ready for re-spinning, has played an important role in the development of this sector.

Used clothing collected from households is graded into a number of categories and garments that are still in good condition are exported for re-sale in parts of the world where people cannot afford more expensive clothing. This trade not only provides employment among the exporting nations, but also in the importing countries. For example, a recent study revealed that, in Kenya alone, the second-hand clothing trade directly or indirectly affected an estimated 5 million people in terms of providing jobs or income generation.

Despite the important social and commercial contribution made by this trade, used clothing prices have been put under pressure during recent years by the worldwide availability of cheap new clothing from countries such as China. These products may be new but their generally poor quality makes them unsuitable for recycling, with the result that an ever-increasing proportion of the used clothing becoming available for collection by the recycling industry will end up in landfill, thereby imposing additional disposal costs on the recycling sector. BIR has responded to this threat by offering practical support to the OUVERTES project which is addressing, among other things, the potential for securing a financial contribution for the services provided by textile recyclers.

As well as collecting and sorting used clothing, the textile recycling sector's activities include the conversion of cotton rags into wiping cloths for use in industry. Knitted or woven woollens and similar materials are 'pulled' into a fibrous state for reuse by the textile industry. Textile manufacturing by-products are also important raw materials: these threads or fibres from spinning, weaving and finishing plants are collected, graded and baled before being delivered to manufacturers for conversion into a wide range of new products. Besides natural fibres such as wool, cotton, silk and linen, artificial fibres such as rayon are of considerable importance. Among these synthetics, vast quantities of polyamides, polyesters and acrylics are used in the manufacture of garments and in industry - all of which can be recycled. Textile recycling provides raw materials for upholstery, for filling mattresses, for wadding and other absorbent products, and for the manufacture of felt as well as fibre from which new cloth can be made.

In this way, primary resources are conserved and, because the recycled materials always have a price advantage, the cost to the consumer is held in check.