What is the Infinite Textiles? Scheme?

The Textile Services Association’s Infinite Textiles? Scheme is a sustainability initiative to reduce textile waste and promote circularity within the commercial laundry and hospitality sectors. The Infinite Textiles? Scheme accredits businesses for responsible and innovative practices in handling textiles throughout their lifecycle, from use to reuse, recycling, or repurposing.

In plain terms, it keeps textiles in use for longer and gives them a second life. Instead of sending items like sheets and towels to landfills, the scheme ensures they’re reused, repurposed, or recycled into new products.

How the scheme works

• We applied and were audited: CLEAN’s processes were reviewed to ensure we responsibly handle end-of-life textiles.
• We’re now certified: We became an accredited member after meeting the standards .
• We collect and sort: When textiles reach the end of their useful life for customers, we separate and sort them for the best next step: reuse, repurposing, or recycling.
• We use approved receivers: We send items to TSA-approved partners such as charities, recyclers, or aggregators who guarantee responsible handling and real outcomes.
• We track what happens: We monitor volumes and where items go to show the difference we’re making.

Why this matters for our customers

• Reduces waste: Fewer textiles going to landfill.
• Lowers their carbon footprint: Extending product life and recycling reduce demand for new textiles and help cut their Scope 3 emissions, which are typically the largest and hardest to track. Our accredited approach and end-to-end tracking provide transparent proof of impact.
• Saves resources: Fewer new textiles produced means less cotton is used, and therefore, less water and energy are used overall.
• Supports social causes: Some items go to charitable reuse where appropriate.
• Proves progress: Working with a certified scheme helps our customers evidence their sustainability goals and policies.
• Simplicity: CLEAN takes care of the sorting, classification and onward handling as part of our everyday linen and workwear rental services.

What happens to the textiles?

• Reuse: Items in good condition may be diverted to new uses via approved receivers, for example they may not be good enough to use in a hotel but perfectly ok for a charity to give to people in need.
• Repurpose: Fabrics can become other useful products, for example some become reusable cleaning cloths
• Recycle: When fabrics cannot be reused, they are processed into materials for new products, made into yarn and woven into new fabrics or transformed into something altogether different but no less valuable, rather than going to landfills.

No matter the route, the goal is to ensure nothing is wasted.

What we’re doing at CLEAN

• Setting up clear collection points for the different types of end-of-life textiles across our sites.
• Training our teams to identify, classify and separate items at the right time.
• Partnering only with TSA-approved receivers for full peace of mind that they’re going to good use.
• Tracking so we can share progress and outcomes with our customers and people.
• Every bag we sort, classify and send to be reused, repurposed, or recycled helps the planet and our communities.

The benefits at a glance

• Less landfill waste and environmental impact
• Lower carbon footprint
• Reduced water and energy use across the lifecycle
• Support for social causes through charitable reuse
• A stronger circular economy for textiles
• Direct support for our customers’ sustainability goals

A milestone we’re proud of

Being one of the first into the scheme is a big moment for CLEAN. It shows our commitment to doing the right thing and leading by example in our industry. We’re excited to work with the TSA and our partners to keep pushing forward, item by item, bag by bag.