This publication, Fabric of Opportunity: An Investor’s Guide to Textile Waste Management and Recycling Investment in Cambodia, aims to strengthen understanding of Cambodia’s emerging textile waste management and recycling sector and highlight practical investment opportunities that can support a more circular, resource-efficient, and competitive GFT industry. As Cambodia’s garment, footwear and travel goods (GFT) sector continues to expand, the volume of textile waste generated by production is also increasing, creating both an environmental challenge and an opportunity to develop new approaches to waste management, recycling, and resource recovery.
The GFT sector remains a cornerstone of Cambodia’s economy, employing more than 925,000 workers and generating approximately USD 15.5 billion in export revenue in 2025. The sector generated an estimated 206,473 tonnes of post-industrial textile waste in 2025, up from 142,354 tonnes in 2021, while much of this waste continues to move through fragmented formal and informal channels. At the same time, growing demand for circular production, resource efficiency, traceability, and sustainable supply chains is creating new opportunities for investment in textile waste sorting, collection, recycling, and waste-to-value solutions. This guide therefore provides investors and industry stakeholders with an overview of Cambodia’s textile waste landscape, identifies priority investment opportunities, and outlines practical considerations for developing businesses that can strengthen circularity, create economic value, and contribute to the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Cambodia’s GFT sector.