The market for waste textiles in Germany continues to contend with limited arisings of original collected stock. With some exceptions, the sorting companies generally have relatively modest inventory levels as a result. Collection volumes have picked up following a weak February, which market participants also attribute to the weather. Yet there is still not much stock on the market, as the typical March volume bump has not materialised. “The collection volumes are consistently poor,” commented one major player in the industry. Consumers have also become more cautious overall.
However, not all market participants confirm that collection volumes of waste textiles are falling. One sorter with its own collection operations said that apart from the pandemic-related ups and downs over the past two years, his business was at 95 to 110 per cent of the typical volumes. There are also differing views about what effects the war in Ukraine will have on collection volumes and material quality: Initially, collection volumes declined as people donated textiles for Ukraine. But since charitable organisations have also put out the message that clothing should not be donated, there is no significant effect on the composition of the stock in the collection containers....
