Transitioning towards a circular textile economy has become a central objective of the European Union’s sustainability policy. However, achieving circularity remains particularly difficult for mixed polyester-cotton textiles, which represent one of the largest textile waste streams. 

This PESCO-UP report examines the main barriers and enabling factors involved in scaling up textile recycling and circular textile value chains in the EU. The analysis combines an extensive literature review with qualitative evidence from 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders representing different stages of the textile value chain, including textile producers, retailers, collectors, sorters, recyclers and technology developers.