Textiles Recycling Expo 2026 wraps up in Brussels with record attendance
The second edition of the Textiles Recycling Expo closed on 25 June at Brussels Expo, drawing 5,607 visitors over two days. That figure marks a sharp rise from the 3,336 attendees who came to the event’s debut in June 2025, and organizers point to it as the largest gathering yet built specifically around textile recycling and circular material sourcing.
The show, organised by AMI, brought together recyclers, waste managers, fibre and fabric manufacturers, machinery suppliers, retailers and policymakers under one roof. More than 169 exhibitors filled the floor this year, up from 126 at the 2025 launch, with companies presenting equipment and services spanning collection, sorting, shredding, fibre regeneration and digital traceability.
A bigger floor, and a shared roof with Future Fabrics Expo
For the first time, Textiles Recycling Expo ran alongside Future Fabrics Expo at the same venue, and a single ticket gave visitors access to both shows. The pairing let attendees move between recycling technology on one side and sustainable materials and fibre innovation on the other, and organisers credited the arrangement with helping pull in a wider mix of buyers, brand representatives and technical staff.
Exhibitors demonstrated live processing equipment on the floor, including shredding and fibre-separation machinery aimed at turning worn clothing and industrial offcuts back into usable fibre stock. Several companies also showed sorting systems built around near-infrared scanning and AI-assisted classification, technology that has become central to scaling textile-to-textile recycling in Europe.
New features drew steady foot traffic
Among the additions this year was the Reju VIP Lounge, a dedicated meeting space for exhibitors and invited guests. A large textile elephant installation stood at its entrance, built to represent textile waste as an issue the industry can no longer set aside, and it became one of the more talked-about features on site.
The Industry Alliance Hub also expanded for 2026, hosting seven organisations, including EURATEX, UKFT, PCIAW, ReHubs, Accelerating Circularity, Fedustria and Denim Deal. The space gave trade bodies room to discuss collaboration across the value chain, from collection and sorting through to manufacturing and policy.
Policy and supply chain topics dominated the conference
The two-day conference programme covered regulatory developments, scaling of textile-to-textile recycling, collection and sorting logistics, and circularity in workwear. Speakers included representatives from H&M, On, Volkswagen, DHL, Shein, Textile Exchange, Primark and Fashion for Good, alongside officials from the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, UNEP, EURATEX and PCIAW.
Much of the discussion centred on the European Union’s extended producer responsibility rules for textiles and the practical hurdles still facing large-scale fibre-to-fibre recycling, including feedstock quality, sorting capacity and end-market demand for recycled fibres.
Wider reach, wider footprint
Organisers said international attendance held steady, following on from the 2025 edition, where roughly twelve percent of attendees travelled from Africa, Asia and the Americas. AMI has since extended the format beyond Europe: Textiles Recycling Expo USA held its own debut in Charlotte, North Carolina, drawing 1,858 visitors and 95 exhibitors, and a second US edition is set for 7-8 April 2027.
What comes next
AMI has already confirmed dates for the next Brussels edition, set for 16-17 June 2027. Organisers said the show will move into Hall 5 at Brussels Expo, giving exhibitors and visitors more floor space than this year’s event. Registration and exhibitor details for the 2027 show are expected to open later this year through the event’s official channels.
For an event now in only its second year, the jump in visitor numbers and exhibitor count suggests textile recycling has moved from a niche technical concern to a fixture on the broader sustainability and manufacturing calendar. Whether that momentum translates into recycled fibre actually replacing virgin material at scale is the question the industry will keep testing at future editions.
