Africa’s fashion industry is growing fast, but so is textile waste. Every year, millions of clothes end up in dumpsites, polluting land and water. Clothing recycling helps solve this problem.
It allows unwanted garments, fabric scraps, and textile waste to be turned into new fabrics, accessories, or even insulation. It also creates jobs, supports local designers, and promotes a sustainable fashion future.
Across the continent, a few innovative companies are proving that old clothes can be transformed into something valuable.
Here are the Top 5 Clothing Recycling Companies in Africa (Q4 2025):
— Rewoven (South Africa): A Cape Town-based textile recycling company that collects off-cuts, unsold clothing, end-of-roll fabric, and rejected garments. They convert these into new fabrics, insulation, blankets, and jersey material, with full traceability and a zero-waste mission.
— Africa Collect Textiles – ACT (Kenya / Nigeria): A social enterprise that collects used clothes and footwear through community drop-off points. They upcycle denim into rugs and bags, recycle wool and acrylic into blankets, and convert shoe soles into durable mats.
— Refab Africa (Nigeria): An initiative by TA Community that operates a mobile “Cloth Bank” to collect used or damaged clothing. They work with designers and tailors to upcycle the materials into new fashion pieces and reusable fabrics.
— NKWO (Nigeria): A sustainable fashion brand using its “Transform” technique to upcycle post-consumer denim, off-cuts, and even single-use plastic into pillows, rugs, and limited-edition apparel. The brand also encourages clothing drop-offs for repurposing.
— Suave Kenya (Kenya): A creative upcycling brand that transforms leftover and rejected clothing into stylish bags, backpacks, and accessories. While not a full recycling plant, it plays a major role in reducing textile waste through high-quality repurposing.
These companies show that African fashion can grow without harming the environment. By giving textiles a second life, they are turning waste into opportunity and supporting a circular fashion economy on the continent.
Selections were based on active collection, recycling or upcycling of textile waste, and verifiable operations in Africa using company websites, news coverage, and sustainability reports.
Image Credit: Conscious Fashion Collective
