Over the last months, we have been approached by startups, saying they have developed the holy grail in textile production: recycling fabric scraps and old garments and turn them into fabrics again.
They all said, to do this at scale, the whole process should take place in China. But, do they know you cannot send waste to China?
China banned the import of most foreign solid waste under the National Sword policy. This includes post industrial textile scraps unless they meet very narrow criteria. Mixed fiber scraps, dyed fabrics, contaminated production waste are effectively prohibited. Customs rejection risk is high. Misclassification penalties are severe.
What can they do? Clean, single fiber, pre consumer scraps. Typically 100 percent polyester or nylon. Undyed or uniformly dyed. Sorted by fiber and color. Baled to specification. Shipped as secondary raw material, not waste. Requires Chinese importer with an approved quota and licenses. Requires detailed material declarations and lab testing.
Cost reality:
Sorting and certification costs are high. Shipping low density fabric waste long distance is inefficient. Compliance overhead often exceeds landfill or local recycling costs.
Sending production scraps from Europe to China is legally constrained, operationally complex, and rarely economical. Regional recycling or closed loop mill partnerships are the rational path.