ReFiber Textile Recovery Partnership Targets Used-Clothing Collection

31 August 2026: ReFiber said in a 29 August 2026 release that it had signed a Letter of Intent with the Textile Recovery Facility in Belapur, Navi Mumbai. The proposed link between digital used-clothing collection and local recovery could improve traceability, sorting and reuse, though the parties have not published implementation targets or an LoI timeline.

What will the ReFiber textile recovery partnership do ?

The LoI connects ReFiber’s collection system with the Textile Recovery Facility, according to the release. ReFiber plans to schedule household pickups, verify collections digitally and track used clothes as they move towards reuse, upcycling or recycling.

That first step matters because recovery plants need sorted, documented material rather than an irregular mix of discarded garments. ReFiber’s official process description says citizens can submit textile waste through its app, after which authorised partners collect the material and send it to authorised recyclers. Each stage is recorded digitally.

The model fits the government’s broader textile recycling policy. India’s Tex-Eco initiative covers textile waste management, recycling, recycled fibres and value addition from discarded textiles.

LoI signed during Mati store inauguration

ReFiber’s release said the LoI exchange took place at the Belapur facility during the inauguration of Mati, a thrift store under the Punarsutra programme. It identified the Textiles Committee, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, SBI Foundation, IDH India and Tisser Artisan Trust as participants in the wider post-consumer textile project.

The release said Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh attended the event and welcomed the use of technology in clothing collection. Vrunda Manohar Desai, whom the Textiles Committee’s official website identifies as its vice-chairperson, also attended.

The parties have not publicly stated the exact signing date, the LoI’s duration or delivery milestones. Claims in the release about citywide reach or future livelihood creation therefore need to be treated as aims, not completed results.

Why digital tracking matters for used clothes

Collection is often the least visible part of textile recovery. Once garments leave a home, operators must record where they came from, sort them by condition and material, and decide whether reuse, repair, upcycling or recycling makes sense. A Bengaluru collection-centre model shows how local waste workers and dry-waste centres can form that first-mile network.

Digital records can then help recovery partners document each handover. Similar work between Avery Dennison and TEXAID has examined how digital identifiers can direct garments towards resale or recycling based on fibre information. The Oterri platform, which powers ReFiber, describes QR- and RFID-based tracking across pickup, processing and recycling.

Collection alone will not close the loop. India also needs dependable sorting, resale demand and recycling capacity, including systems for difficult blended fabrics. Research groups are testing blended-textile recycling technology, but ReFiber’s LoI deals with the earlier problem: getting used clothes into a recorded recovery channel.

FAQs ….

What is the ReFiber and TRF LoI meant to achieve ?
It is intended to connect ReFiber’s digitally tracked collection of used clothes with the Textile Recovery Facility in Belapur, where collected material can enter reuse, upcycling or recycling routes. The parties have not published binding targets or a rollout schedule.

How can households give used clothes to ReFiber ?
ReFiber’s website says citizens can submit textile waste through its app and use pickup or drop-off options. Authorised partners collect the material, while the platform records its movement through the recovery process.