Textile waste is becoming an underestimated cost center in global supply chains. Turkey's recent Zero Waste initiative, featuring a dedicated textile recycling program, offers a complete closed-loop model spanning policy, logistics, and remanufacturing.
The core action is straightforward: placing clothing collection bins at all PTT postal outlets nationwide. But behind these bins lies a collaborative network involving government bodies, state-owned logistics, social assistance channels, and private enterprises.
Closed-Loop Logic of the Recycling Chain
PTT outlets serve as the front-end collection points, handling registration and initial aggregation. Collected garments are then transported to processing centers, where workers sort them by category, fabric, condition, and reuse value, followed by uniform disinfection. The key lies in meticulous sorting, which determines the economic viability of subsequent diversion paths.
Usable garments are distributed through social assistance channels, while unwearable textiles enter the recycling process. Partner companies donate new clothes as feedback, maintaining the program's public welfare nature while ensuring sustainable financial and material circulation. Zero Waste Foundation Chairman Samet Ağırbaş stated the goal is to 'deliver collected usable clothes to those in need,' while achieving resource reuse through recycling.
From an industrial perspective, this model addresses two most difficult problems in textile recycling: low efficiency in front-end collection and high cost in back-end sorting. The low marginal cost of deploying bins via the state-owned logistics network significantly lowers the entry barrier, while government-led sorting standards ensure raw material quality for downstream recycling.
Implications for Textile Exporting Countries
Turkey is a major global exporter of textiles and apparel, and its domestic consumption generates substantial textile waste. The Zero Waste initiative, launched in 2017 under the patronage of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, targets waste reduction, resource efficiency, and source-separated waste sorting. This textile recycling program is a concrete implementation within that framework.
For textile clusters like Shaoxing, Shengze, and Nantong in China, this case offers at least three reference dimensions:
- Public nature of recycling network: embedding bins into existing public infrastructure like post offices significantly reduces initial investment.
- Division of labor in public-private partnerships: government sets standards and mobilizes front-end, while companies contribute recycling technology and new clothing donations.
- Combining public welfare with circular economy: distributing wearable clothes through social assistance avoids price shocks to second-hand markets while solving social issues.