Reverse Resources: A decade of mapping, tracing and trading textile waste

GCA 2016 winner Reverse Resources started from an idea that was invisible to the textile industry. Because before you can recycle textile waste at scale, you need to know what it consists of, where it’s generated, and where it should go. More than ten years on, that idea is the foundation for a growing network of global brands, manufacturers, recyclers and waste handlers across over thirty markets.

What happens to the fabric scraps, trims and cuttings left behind when garments, interiors, and other textile products are made?

For years, the industry’s spotlight has been on post-consumer waste: the visible end-of-life garments that consumers see rotting away in landfills across Africa, Asia and South America. However, the story of all the industrial waste being handled through informal, fragmented channels, remain untold.

Changing how waste is seen

To some, these fabric leftovers would be viewed as unusable. To others, like Ann Runnel, founder and CEO of Reverse Resources, it was an opportunity hiding in plain sight. That realisation began with what she saw on the ground in Bangladesh.

“While researching supply chains, I visited garment factories and saw large volumes of textile waste lying behind buildings, unmanaged and largely unmeasured. What struck me most was not only the waste itself, but the lack of data and visibility. No one could clearly say how much was generated, what fibres it contained, or where it ended up. That gap between economic theory, real industrial practice and environmental impact revealed a structural blind spot. I began to see textile waste not only as an environmental problem, but as a systemic inefficiency hiding significant economic potential”, says Ann Runnel.

That opportunity resulted in Reverse Resources, a digital platform helping factories sort their textile waste by composition, trace it digitally and connect it to suitable waste handlers and recyclers. Instead of mixed, low-value waste, the system generates structured, high-quality feedstock that can move into better recycling processes and higher-value products.

From three factories to a global network

One of Reverse Resources’ main turning points came in 2021 with the Circle Fashion Partnership project in Bangladesh, launched together with Global Fashion Agenda.

The pilot began small and grew fast.

“We brought 21 brands together and started with three factories segregating waste directly at the cutting table”, says Ann Runnel. “We connected that waste to the best possible recyclers and demonstrated that we could trace it from factory to recycling and actually build supply chains that delivered recycled products at a lower cost. That project put us on the map. It showed that we were capable of creating market disruption and behavior change, and of coordinating action across the supply chain in a way that enabled brands to track their waste, connect it to recycling, and reduce operational friction.”

Since then, the model has scaled far beyond that initial pilot. Today, Reverse Resources connects 18 global brands with 1,211 manufacturers, 239 recyclers and 166 waste handlers across 37 markets, turning a three-factory experiment into a global system for mapping and trading textile waste.

The change is visible in daily routines on the factory floor and beyond. Factories that once mixed cotton and polyester waste now sort by composition. Waste handlers that used to operate informally are entering global supply chains under clear criteria and shared standards. Recyclers receive better, more consistent input materials and can plan investments with greater confidence.

Shifting a slow market

Reverse Resources operates in a market that remains cautious about recycling and circularity, with many brands only now beginning to define clear strategies and targets for recycled content.

“The investment community does not really believe in the recycling industry yet. With stories about recycling companies going bankrupt and brands waiting for regulation to kick in before committing, the overall excitement in the market is simply not there. It does not feel like a trendy or high growth topic right now. It feels as if everyone is waiting for something”, says Ann Runnel.

The overall excitement in the market is simply not there. It does not feel like a trendy or high growth topic right now. It feels as if everyone is waiting for something.

Ann Runnel

Despite challenges and lacking interest from the investment space, financial returns have never been Reverse Resources primary goal, impact has. And it’s beginning to show.

“For a long time, the conversations in the industry focused mainly on post-consumer waste and the lack of recycling capacity. That was the dominant narrative. By addressing industrial waste first, we create a workable business case and then gradually pull in post-consumer waste. This shift in mindset, from focusing only on post-consumer waste to recognising the potential of industrial waste, has been the biggest change I have seen in the industry over the last decade”, says Ann Runnel, and concludes:

“It makes circularity feel less theoretical and more operational. It allows the industry to actually kickstart the circular economy in a realistic way.”