The last decades have seen an exponential rise of textile consumption, reaching a peak in purchasing practices around the year 2007 and thereafter maintaining consumption levels with small variations in different countries. Meanwhile average quality of textiles in circulation continue to experience a decline. It is then more difficult to retain value in them, increasing the amount of non-rewearable clothing entering sorting facilities. At the same time, clothing disposal rates are accelerating, as global clothing utilisation has decreased by 36% since the early 2000s. For instance, in the Netherlands, it is estimated that an average of 40 clothing items are annually disposed per person. Mid and low quality PCT are therefore more readily available , and the potential of sorting clothing by material type becomes more attractive to offer accurate feedstock for textile to textile recycling.