New Look, M&S, Sainsbury’s And Oxfam Launch The Circuit
Three major UK retailers and Oxfam are joining Circle-8 to test the sorting, traceability and commercial frameworks needed to turn non-reusable post-consumer textiles into recycled raw materials at scale.
New Look, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Oxfam and Circle-8 have launched The Circuit, a collaborative model designed to build circular textile value chains using end-of-use clothing generated in the UK.
The initiative brings together retailers, textile recovery partners, automated sorting providers, recyclers, digital innovators and manufacturers. Its first phase will focus on testing, learning and developing the operational frameworks required to support future scale-up.
In 2024, approximately 1.4 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles were generated across the UK, with nearly half estimated to comprise non-reusable textiles. Demand for recycled textile materials is growing, but the systems required to create them from post-consumer textiles are still developing.
The Circuit is intended to create pathways through which UK-generated, non-reusable end-of-use textiles can be recovered, sorted and pre-processed into input materials for existing and emerging fibre-to-fibre recycling.
By bringing organisations from across the value chain together, the initiative aims to create the scale, consistency and commercial conditions needed to improve the future viability of textile-to-textile recycling. It is also intended to support job creation and manufacturing, with automated sorting and pre-processing located close to where end-of-use textiles are generated before materials are turned into feedstock for regional and global supply chains.
The partnership will support the development of both mechanical and chemical recycling processes capable of transforming UK-generated post-consumer textiles into raw materials for regional and global textile manufacturing. By developing multiple routes to market and products for recovered materials, participating retailers will help shape the value chains needed to support future circular materials.
Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems, the development company behind The Circuit, is developing the infrastructure, partnerships and commercial frameworks required to connect post-consumer textile recovery with future circular material supply. This includes Automated Textile Sorting and Pre-processing facilities designed to create feedstock for existing and emerging textile recyclers.
First Phase To Begin In Batley In 2027
The first phase of The Circuit will begin in January 2027 at Oxfam’s site in Batley, Yorkshire. Initial work will focus on automated textile sorting alongside the development of reporting frameworks to improve traceability, identifying circular material opportunities, building relationships with recyclers and exploring operational models that could support further scaling.
Oxfam will separate reusable and non-reusable textiles and operate the automated textile sorting equipment, building on its longstanding expertise in textile recovery and reuse.
Industry Partners On The Circuit
“Building a more circular fashion industry requires collaboration right across the value chain. The Circuit gives retailers an opportunity to play an active role in developing the systems that could turn non-reusable textiles already in circulation into the raw materials of the future. For New Look, this is about looking at how we can help create more resilient, circular supply chains over the longer term. We’re pleased to be part of The Circuit, to help demonstrate what can be achieved at scale.”
Lynda Petherick, Chief Executive Officer at New Look
“At M&S, we believe the most sustainable clothing is clothing that is worn and loved for longer. 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.”
Katharine Beacham, Head of Sustainability & Materials in Fashion, Home & Beauty at M&S
“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.”
“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.”
“The retailers who help build circular textile value chains today will be best positioned to influence and benefit from them tomorrow. Through The Circuit, we’re powering the relationships, infrastructure and commercial frameworks needed to make that possible. No one organisation can create a circular textile value chain alone, and we look forward to welcoming others to The Circuit.”
Terry Clark is the Publisher and Content Director of 365 Retail, with more than a decade of experience covering retail design, technology innovations, store openings and the wider retail industry. He also works closely with leading retailers, suppliers, agencies, events and industry awards across the UK.
