Textile consumption in Europe has been steadily increasing lately, driving both economic growth and environmental concern. Rising demand translates into millions of tonnes of waste each year, much of which still ends up in mixed waste streams rather than being reused or recycled. At the same time, textile production remains a resource-intensive industry, ranking among the top contributors to carbon emissions, water use, and land pressure. Against this backdrop, new circular approaches such as HALO-TEX aim to reshape the sector developing sustainable alternatives centred in bio-based materials.
Textile consumption, waste and recovery in Europe
In recent years, the volume of textiles entering the European consumer market has steadily climbed. Between 2019 and 2022, the average per-person consumption in the EU increased from 17 kg to 19 kg annually—roughly the size of a large suitcase full of new garments, footwear, and household textiles. Of that 19 kg in 2022, about 8 kg was clothing, 7 kg was household textiles, and 4 kg footwear. (EEA-A, 2025). Meanwhile, the management of used textiles remains problematic. As reported in in 2020, roughly 16 kg of textile waste per person was generated, yet only around 4.4 kg were collected separately for reuse and recycling while the rest ended up into mixed waste streams.
Still, structurally, the EU textile production sector remains a vital source of employment and economic activity. Figures reported before the Covid-19 pandemic indicate that the average textile goods production in Europe was 6.9 million tonnes, involving over 1.5 million jobs across 160,000 companies.
In Europe, a significant proportion of consumed textiles translates directly into waste; about 62% of textiles placed on the EU market become waste eventually and only 38% are separately collected to enter recycling or reuse cycles, which corresponds to approximately 2.1 million tonnes. (EU Technical Report, 2025). Recent mapping efforts underscore both the promise and limitations of Europe’s recycling infrastructure. By the end of 2025, Europe’s capacity for post‑consumer textile recycling is projected to reach 1.3 million tonnes, with 560,000 tonnes able to be sorted (IVL-A, 2023). Technological innovations are crucial for the sector in order to reach the expectations. As calculated by the team working at the mechanical textile recycling pilot plant in Avesa (Part of the Bio-Innovation Textile Initiative in Sweden), during the fabrication of one tone of recycled cotton fibre between 70 and 300 kg CO₂ may be emitted, versus 500 to 4,000 kg CO2 emitted for the fabrication of one tone of virgin cotton (IVL-B, 2023).
Environmental impacts associated to the textile production in Europe and the HALOTEX approach.
Textiles rank among the top household consumption categories in terms of environmental footprint. In 2022, textile consumption was fifth highest among twelve categories driven by raw material use, greenhouse gas emissions, and pressure on water and land resources (EEA-B, 2025). The textiles sector also stands as the third largest global resources consumer, mostly due to its economic importance but one with substantial environmental consequences.
Environmental impact from fast fashion production is especially stark. Globally, it contributes up to 8% of carbon emissions and 20% of wastewater, consuming roughly 93 billion cubic meters of water annually. Millions of tonnes of waste textile synthetic fabrics coming from fast fashion production end up in landfills or incinerating, harming entire ecosystems and releasing pollutants and microplastics.
If Europe’s textile consumption continues to rise, it will exert significant environmental pressure Yet, regulatory shifts, consumer expectations and practices; and especially technological and materials innovations can reshape European textile production system, by offering a chance for transformation. Here is where the project HALO-TEX comes into play.
HALO-TEX attempts to reduce reliance on conventional raw materials by developing a novel circular and sustainable manufacturing system for textiles, composites, and high‑value biochemicals via the biorefinery of salt‑tolerant (halophyte) plants. By utilizing underexploited halophyte biomass grown on saline land, HALO‑TEX avoids competition with food crops and leverages non‑arable areas. The project targets the production of cellulose‑based yarns and fabrics with improved recyclability, bio‑based additives, and composites, all using low‑energy and low‑chemical processing. It aligns with EU Green Deal and Circular Economy strategies, offering a replicable value chain model toward a circular bioeconomy—addressing the “not enough” of current recycling by creating new, sustainable feedstocks and systems.
References:
- EEA-A: European Environment Agency (2025). Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers. - Nick de Partee
- European Commission; Technical Report (2021). Circular economy perspectives in the EU textile sector – Andreas R. Koehler, David Watson, Steffen Trzepacz, Clara Löw, Ran Liu, Jennifer Danneck, Antonios Konstantas, Shane Donatello and Giorgia Faraca.
- IVL-A: Swedish Environmental Research Institute (2023). Europe’s capacity for textile recycling mapped. - Sara Malmheden.
- IVL-B: Swedish Environmental Research Institute (2023). New study shows favourable conditions for mechanical textile recycling. - Sara Malmheden.
- EEA-B: European Environment Agency (2025). The use if primary raw materials in the upstream supplychain of REU-27 household consumption domains, 2022.