The management of textile waste presents an urgent global challenge. In response, circular economy strategies aimed at extending the lifecycle of textiles have attracted considerable attention in both policy and research contexts. This study presents the first systematic literature review of 185 publications employing environmental methodologies, beyond Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), to evaluate circular strategies for textile waste. The objective is to guide the selection and application of environmental methodologies to address key knowledge gaps with the potential to enhance the environmental sustainability of the textile value chain. Results reveal an increase in publications since 2020, with a focus on post-consumer textile waste and European contexts, addressed in 71% and 58% of the publications, respectively. Downstream circular strategies are more frequently studied than upstream strategies. LCA is the most applied methodology, present in over half of the publications, followed by indicator calculation, Material Flow Analysis, Waste Composition Analysis (WCA), and system analysis. 78% of studies adopt a single-methodology approach, with secondary data commonly used across all methodologies except WCA. Moreover, five key knowledge gaps are identified: enhancing access to high-quality data; incorporating calculations for a greater variety of fibre compositions and textile product categories; developing studies at regional scales; analysing consumer behaviour, particularly substitution rates; and investigating trade of used textiles. Recommendations are provided for the effective application of the reviewed environmental methodologies to address these gaps. This review contributes to advancing environmental research on textile waste management, supporting the implementation of circular economy strategies, and informing evidence-based policy development.
Morell-Delgado et al. (Wed,) studied this question.