Industrial textile recycling takes the fabric scraps, offcuts, and production waste that factories usually throw away and turns them into something useful again.
Instead of piling up in landfills, these materials become new fabrics, non-wovens, insulation, or upgraded cloth for designers and manufacturers.
It is one of the smartest ways Africa’s textile industry is cutting waste and creating value at the same time.
Here are the Top 5 Industrial Textile Recycling Companies in Africa
— Rewoven (South Africa): A Cape Town textile recycler working with factories to collect and process offcuts and post-consumer waste. Their published numbers confirm over one million kilograms of textile waste recycled into new fabrics, yarns, and finished products.
— Southtex Knitting Mill (South Africa): A long-running textile manufacturer with a structured industrial recycling program. They collect factory offcuts, reintegrate reusable fabric into production, and recycle unusable material through partner recyclers as part of their sustainability plan.
— Africa Collect Textiles – ACT (Kenya / Nigeria): A social enterprise that collects textile waste from drop-off points and factory partners. They sort, upcycle, and recycle industrial-quality waste into rugs, blankets, bags, and reusable materials, supporting a circular textile chain.
— KYND Textiles Africa (Pan-Africa): A recycling and upcycling initiative working with factories and communities to collect textile waste and convert it into reusable materials through partner recycling facilities. Their model focuses on large-scale collection and circular production.
— Rivatex East Africa (Kenya): A major textile manufacturer that integrates recycling and upcycling into its operations. Sustainability reports show reductions in mill waste after transforming offcuts into new products and training local artisans to work with reclaimed materials.
These five organisations are turning factory scraps into opportunity, helping reduce waste while strengthening Africa’s circular textile economy.
Companies were included based on verifiable recycling or upcycling of industrial textile waste, publicly available sustainability data, and active operations in Africa.
Sources include company websites, circular-economy reports, and reputable media.
Image Credit: ANDRITZ GROUP
