Textile solid waste management: circular economy and life cycle perspectives

The growing population and rising living standards have significantly increased textile production and textile waste generation worldwide. Handling and management of textile solid waste (TSW) is an emerging opportunity but also a challenge due to inadequate collection systems and the increasing volume of textile waste. Although numerous management pathways have been investigated, their environmental and circularity performance remains hugely context-dependent. The current article evaluates TSW management possibilities like reuse, recycling, incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, or landfill, through the integrated lens of life cycle assessment (LCA) and circular economy. A structured review of literature published mostly in the last 5 years was conducted utilising major scientific databases, resulting in the screening of significant records and the final inclusion of 63 studies for detailed interpretation. The review identifies key research gaps and highlights technological trade-offs, contributing to more sustainable and circular textile waste management strategies. The analysis further indicates that LCA is necessary for comparing management routes since it reveals trade-offs among greenhouse gas emissions, recovery of energy, pollution, and material retention. The novelty of the article lies in its comparative synthesis, inclusion of circular economy, LCA, and further identification of research gaps and future recommendations for sustainable TSW management.