Fast fashion often ends up trashed. New recycling techniques could help.

Fast fashion is flooding landfills, with 85 percent of textiles ending up as trash and less than 1 percent recycled into new clothes, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Why? Because blended fabrics are hard to sort and recycle. But here’s where it gets high-tech—scientists at NIST are using near-infrared spectroscopy and electrostatic separation to identify and sort fibers faster than ever. So what does this mean for the paper packaging industry? Think of it as a warning and an opportunity. As textiles wrestle with fiber purity and recycling infrastructure, paper packaging—already a mono-material leader—can double down on its recyclability edge and invest in next-gen sorting tech to stay ahead in the circular economy.https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2025/04/05/recycle-clothing-fast-fashion/

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