Tracing Textile Waste
Fashion for Good and Textile Exchange launched the Tracing Textile Waste project in 2023, a two-year, multi-stakeholder initiative to standardise classification and traceability of pre-consumer textile waste. Central to this effort was developing a minimum viable product (MVP) based on the Textile Exchange Reclaimed Material Declaration Form (RMDF).
Following the completion of the project, Textile Exchange has confirmed it will officially launch a revised RMDF, using the learnings and recommendations from this project. The focus now turns to enabling widespread adoption and supporting continuous refinement.
Problem Statement
Transparency on the origins of textile feedstock is limited. Currently, tracing textile waste is manual and fragmented, with data collection lacking standardisation for easy consolidation and exchange. This gap is increasingly problematic as brands and regulators demand greater visibility to ensure material authenticity, especially for recycled inputs.
Regulations such as the EU’s Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) are pushing for more sustainable products with better traceability across industries, including textiles. This growing regulatory pressure requires reliable systems to meet sustainability goals and compliance.
Since the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) were created over a decade ago, the recycling landscape has evolved significantly. Textile Exchange is now working to improve the RMDF to reflect these changes.
Executive Summary
Launched in August 2023, the project brought together Textile Exchange, Fashion for Good, brand partners including adidas, Target, BESTSELLER, Norrøna, and Levi Strauss & Co. with support from Control Union, Recover and Usha Yarns. The goal was to harmonise data and system capabilities by validating an RMDF (MVP) that standardises how textile waste data is collected and shared across the supply chain, from collectors and recyclers to certification bodies.
The project also explored integrating with digital platforms like Reverse Resources to pre-fill data and reduce duplication, envisioning a fully digital, interoperable traceability system.
To support the development and testing of the RMDF (MVP), several tests were carried out across four regions across a diverse group of industry partners, including brands, suppliers, recyclers, and certification bodies. These pilots reflect the collective effort and commitment across the value chain to improve traceability and reporting of pre-consumer textile waste.
The pilots tested both manual and automated completion of the RMDF via the Reverse Resources platform, involving over 100 shipments and more than 596,756kg of pre-consumer textile waste. Pilots were conducted in:
- China, with a vertically integrated supplier testing both manual and platform-driven data collection across 53 shipments.
- North America, where logistics and brand-owned collection sites trialled small-scale manual input.
- Central/South America, demonstrating the RMDF’s application across high-volume recovery operations, with over 400,000kg tracked.
- Bangladesh, where platform integration was tested with data aggregation across supplier networks and independent recyclers.
This cross-regional engagement underscores the global relevance and adaptability of the RMDF, while showcasing the significant operational input from participating partners to inform its refinement.
Goals of the Project
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Standardise the labelling and classification of data points for Material Declaration Forms (MDFs) and Transaction Certificates.
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Test the exchange of RMDF data (not API integration) between key stakeholders in multi stakeholder pilots.
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Recommend an industry framework (based on MDF open data standard) for the first data input of textile waste feedstock for certified recycled materials, particularly for GRS & RCS certification improvements.
Key Findings
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Time Efficiency: The RMDF (MVP) can be completed manually or via digital platforms such as Reverse Resources. This significantly reduces the need for manual data entry and streamlining the process for users across the supply chain.
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Reporting Frequency: Monthly reporting was preferred, though some flexibility is needed for lower-volume periods.
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Material & Composition: Collecting consistent material data is valuable but challenging, despite advances in sorting technologies.
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Transaction Certificates: Adding a dedicated RMDF field within Transaction Certificates improves traceability and enables more detailed reporting of recycled material types.
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Colour Information: Not critical for certification but useful for recyclers (especially mechanical).
RECOMMENDATIONS MADE TO TEXTILE EXCHANGE
- Integrate RMDF (MVP) into standards: Incorporate into GRS, RCS, and the upcoming Materials Matter Standard, with further piloting to accelerate adoption.
- Link RMDF (MVP) with certification: Integrate RMDF data with Transaction Certificates and the TrackIt Traceability System to enable certified volume reconciliation. Develop a dedicated data field for seamless traceability.
- Maintain flexible traceability approaches: Adapt to the complexity and variability of supply chains.
- Expand use of digital platforms: Scale integration of platforms like Reverse Resources to automate data aggregation and speed up certification workflows.
Textile Exchange Launches a Revised RMDF
Textile Exchange has officially launched the revised Reclaimed Material Declaration Form following the completion of the Tracing Textile Waste project. This data collection tool captures key information about reclaimed materials, including their origin, and has been developed based on the RMDF (MVP) and findings from pilot testing. This marks a significant step forward in improving transparency and traceability across the global textile recycling supply chain.
By aligning RMDF classifications with Textile Exchange standards and embedding data into certification workflows, this initiative lays the foundation for more accurate reporting, faster certification, and meaningful progress towards a circular textile economy. Realising this vision will require continued collaboration across the ecosystem, from brands and recyclers to certifiers and digital innovators.
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