The findings come as the European textile sector must adapt to stricter waste regulations and prepares for the approaching mandates on textile waste collection and product data traceability.
TEXAID, which collects and sorts around 80,000 tonnes of textiles annually across more than 300 categories, worked with Avery Dennison to assess whether radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging could help meet rising pressures created by new European Union directives.
From 2025, EU member states must implement separate collection of textile waste under changes to the Waste Framework Directive, expected to significantly increase post-consumer textile volumes handled by collectors and sorters.
The pilot project embedded RFID tags, supplied by Avery Dennison, into 300 selected garments covering a range of types and materials.
Trials were conducted at Valvan’s Sorting Lab in Menen, Belgium, using Valvan’s Fibersort system, after the existing sorting machinery was upgraded with additional scanning hardware and software. Tests were designed to reflect real-world operational scenarios.
The companies investigated whether automated systems could read RFID tags reliably and whether this would reduce the time and cost involved in sorting garments for potential recycling.
The system departed from conventional manual sorting, which usually relies on visual assessment of brand, garment type, or colour, and is often insufficient for detailed fibre-based textile-to-textile recycling.
According to results released by Avery Dennison and TEXAID, the RFID-enabled automation allowed the sorting process to reach one garment per second, or 60 items per minute.
In contrast, manual methods by a single sorter reach about 22 garments per minute, a rate drawn from processing roughly 2,400 kg of clothing every day at an average 4.4 garments per kilogram.
That equates to automated throughput nearly three times higher than manual sorting.
“The efficiency improvement for automated RFID-enabled sorting is defined by the speed at which processing can be carried out,” the companies said in a joint statement.
By maintaining identification accuracy of up to 99.9%, the RFID system also performed well on challenging materials, such as black items or mixed-fibre garments which can be more difficult for standard technologies.
The technology demonstration focused not only on throughput but also on the integration of garment data. Each tagged item was cross-referenced with a product database provided by TEXAID, allowing the system to create detailed tracking of textile flows.
This digital record could potentially provide brands and retailers with better information on the end-of-life journey of their products.
The companies noted that building data-driven and scalable sorting capabilities will become increasingly important as European requirements around textile product traceability, such as the proposed Digital Product Passport (DPP) for textiles, come into effect.
TEXAID CEO Martin Böschen added: “As DPP approaches, brands must invest in embedded RFID technology – unlocking benefits across the value chain, from inventory management and theft prevention to automation sorting and end-of-life services.”
Despite the improved efficiency and data visibility, the pilot also indicated that further investment in artificial intelligence cameras and data management systems would be needed to fully leverage the potential of automated sorting machines like Fibersort.
