World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology

International Journal of Environmental and Ecological Engineering

Vol:13, No:5, 2019

Reverse Logistics in Clothing Recycling: A Case

Study in Chengdu
Guo Yan

1
reused, or remanufacturing, or recycled fiber as raw materials,
Abstract—Clothing recycling bin is a traditional way to collect which is back to the new clothing manufacturing process. It
textile waste in many areas. In the clothing recycling business, the starts from fabric, clothing design, manufacturing, and
transportation cost normally takes over 50% of total costs. This case transportation to retail stores for selling, and customers buying
gives a good way to reduce transportation cost by reverse logistics
and wearing, years-later disposal to recycling process.
system. In this reverse logistics system, there are offline strategic
alliance partners, such as transport firms, convenience stores, Under a sharing economy, reverse logistics can be arranged
laundries, and post office which are integrated onto the mobile APP. on internet platforms to solve the lack of scale of returns trip,
Open Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:13, No:5, 2019 waset.org/Publication/10010321

Offline strategic alliance partners provide the service of textile waste and increase the likelihood of transportation operating at full
collection, and transportation by their vacant vehicles return journey capacity [3]. Reverse logistics plays an important role in
from convenience stores, laundries and post offices to sorting centers. transitioning under a circular economy [4].
The results of the case study provide the strategic alliance with a
Reverse logistics in clothing recycling become more
valuable and light - asset business model by using the logistics of
offline memberships. The company in this case just focuses on textile environmentally efficiency to lower transportation cost by
waste sorting, reuse, recycling etc. The research method of this paper using the same trucks as for deliveries in the return trip [5].
is a case study of a clothing recycling company in Chengdu by field Mr. R (the registered trademark) is a company dealing with
research and interview; the analysis is based on the theory of the reused clothing collecting, sorting, reselling and recovery in the
reverse logistics system. Chengdu area. Chengdu is a large city in China with over
16,045 thousand population in 2017. Mr. R’s Reverse Logistics
Keywords—Closed-loop recycles system, clothing recycling,
System is based on mobile APP (Abbr. SAAS software) which
end-of-life clothing, sharing economy, strategic alliance, reverse
logistics. it has developed. The APP aggregates strategic alliance
partners on the platform by sharing their deliveries capacity to
I. INTRODUCTION lower transportation costs [6].
The aim of the paper is twofold. First, it analyses the
C LOTHING recycling can be divided by two ways, which
are online and offline. Offline clothing recycling is the
traditional way; the citizen can drop off in recycle bins or
closed-loop clothing recycling system and the main costs.
Second, it presents Mr. R’s Reverse Logistics System in
clothing recycling with its strategic alliance. In the last section,
donate to Charity communities. Online recycling is normally to
concluding remarks are given with a study of the sharing
fill in a donation application online and then the transportation
economy, strategic alliance and Mr. R’s light asset business
company’s door-to–door service collects. In whatever ways of
model.
recycling, the transportation expenditure from collection spot
The research method of this paper is qualitative content
to sorting center takes a larger portion of the total cost in
analysis in a case study of Mr. R’s Reverse Logistics System.
clothing recycling due to geographic dispersion.
The data in the paper are provided by the Mr. R Company.
Reverse logistics can be defined by two kinds in terms of
Besides, field research and interview method are conducted.
items; reverse logistics for the product returns process and for
disposal of end-of-life products to reused, recycling, and
II. CASE STUDY AND METHODS
recovery process. Returns reverse logistics refers to the process
of the customers returns of products to the suppliers [1]. A. Closed-Loop Clothing Recycling System
Reverse logistics in end-of-life products recycling refers to Fig. 1 illustrates that under a closed-loop clothing recycling
collecting from the customers, through the logistics activities in system, there are three ways to utilize end-of-life clothing,
the supply chain, including sorting, reused and recovery these are reuse, remanufacture and recycling after collecting,
materials back to the original supplier as raw materials in new transportation, sorting. Reuse clothing can be donated or resold
product manufacturing [2]; it also known as "environmental in thrift shops. Remanufacture is when the used clothing is
logistics". The purpose is to classify and utilize end-of-life made into rags for cleaning machines. Recycled clothing can be
products, restore their full or partial value again, and reduce the used as raw materials to spin and weave fiber for fabric which
adverse impact on the environment. can then be used to make into new clothing, as result to be
In the closed-loop clothing recycling system, there are the closed-loop in terms of zero-to-landfill and therefore is better
following phases: Collecting, transportation, sorting, then for the environment.
B. The Costs in Clothing Recycling
Guo Yan is Professor of Business School, Beijing Institute of Fashion
Technology, Beijing 100029, China (e-mail: sxygy@ bift.edu.cn).
Fig. 2 illustrates that there are three main costs in clothing

International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 13(5) 2019 304 ISNI:0000000091950263
 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Vol:13, No:5, 2019

recycling, that is collecting, transportation and sorting. Among vehicles repairing, etc. The labor cost of personnel sorting
them, the transportation cost accounts for the largest accounts for about 40%, including the wages of workers and
proportion, which is more than 50-60%, including the social insurances expenses. Collecting is based on donation,
investment of transport vehicles, the wages of drivers, fuel, bins making and locating are the main expenses.

Raw materials

Fabric
manufacture Design

Recycling Garment
manufacture

Donate
or
Sorting Resell Logistics
Open Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:13, No:5, 2019 waset.org/Publication/10010321

Transportation Retailing

Collecting Consumption

Fig. 1 Closed-loop clothing recycling system

60%
business, the Mr. R Company adopts strategic alliances with
40% offline partners, including convenience shops, laundries, post
offices, and expresses stations etc.
﹥50%
20% ﹤40% Fig. 3 illustrates that Mr. R’s Reverse Logistics System with
0% ﹤10% strategic alliance partners consists of two main parts. One part
collection transportation sorting is the alliance partners who are responsible for collecting and
Fig. 2 Three major costs in clothing recycling
transporting. They also provide clothing collection services that
are convenient for residents in their area. After collection, they
C. Mr. R’s Reverse Logistics System deliver the collected clothing back to their warehouses. The
The cost of clothing recycling directly affects the price of alliance members utilize their return trip trucks' idle space to
recycled fibers. Normally the price of regenerated fibers is 30% provide transportation from the collecting points to Mr. R
higher than that of native fiber. Therefore, clothing recycling is sorting center, and thus can lead to reduction in the overall
based on donation or free in most countries in order to lower the logistics costs.
cost of recycled fibers.
In order to reduce the transportation cost of the recycling

Fig. 3 Mr. R and its Strategic Alliance

International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 13(5) 2019 305 ISNI:0000000091950263
 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Vol:13, No:5, 2019

In the closed-loop clothing recycling system, the Mr. R which is far lower than that of its counterparts.
Company only do business starting from the sorting to recycle
B. Environmental Significance
phase. After sorting, end-of-life clothing can be utilized in three
ways; one is to donate or resell, another is to remanufacture to The environmental significance of sharing alliance
rags, and the rest can be recycled for fiber to make into new members’ logistics is more than just the economic ones.
fabric. Maximizing return journeys of idle spaces could also results to
reduced numbers of vehicles in the streets and therefore carbon
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS emissions, which is better for the environment.
Fig. 4 shows how alliance members such as convenience
A. Sharing Trucks’ Idle Space to Lower Cost stores, express stations and laundries, which are chain
Convenience stores, laundries, post offices, and express operations or franchises with centralized warehouses in
stations have their own logistics transportation systems, mostly Chengdu, use reverse logistics. For example, the express parcel
they are a one-way trip, and the return trip might be empty. delivery service is mostly a one-way operation, and under the
Through strategic alliance, Mr. R takes advantage of the alliance, express stations around the city are used as a collection
existing logistics capacity to undertake clothing recycling point for old clothes, which are then transported to the central
transportation. In this way, the Mr. R Company might save on warehouse on the return trips. After accumulating to fill a
Open Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:13, No:5, 2019 waset.org/Publication/10010321

vehicles’ investment and drivers hiring. The Mr. R Company is transportation vehicle, they are taken from the centralize
currently only responsible for the transportation from the warehouse to Mr. R sorting center. The scale economy can be
sorting center to reuse, remanufacture, and recovery sectors reached for both. The convenience stores and laundries also
with only two vehicles and two drivers. The transportation cost follow this collection method.
accounts for only 5% of the company’s total annual expense,

convenience
shop 1 forward logistics

reverse logistics Convenience

convenience shop
shop 2 reverse logistics
warehouse

Express
Post 1 reverse logistics Mr. R
reverse
convenience Sorting center
logistics Express
shop 3 delivery
Express
Post 2 center
reverse logistics
forward logistics
laundries
convenience
Express shop 1 Laundries
shop N
Post N washing
reverse logistics
center
laundries
shop 2

laundries
shop N

Fig. 4 Reverse logistics centralizes the decentralized shops in Chengdu

C. Convenience to Put in End-of-Life Clothing different sectors and take advantage of their respective benefits
In Mr. R’s Reverse Logistics System, there are over 240 to create a win-win situation for all partners. Alliance members
convenience stores, 80 laundries, 260 express stations and 45 have the advantages of offline shops location, idle return trip
post offices; this amounts to a total of about 625 alliance and warehouse, while Mr. R is focused only on the business of
members in Chengdu and covering more than 200 communities. used clothing; the sorting to reuse, remanufacture and recycling
This system provides convenience for locals who want to sectors.
dispose of end-of-life clothing whenever and wherever. The Table II provides a breakdown of expenses of the Mr. R
annual collection of recycled clothing is over 3000 tons. Company in the sorting sector, in which sorting workers wages
Alliance members receive 0.2 Yuan per kg of recycled clothes and warehouse rental account for 30% and 8%, respectively.
delivered to Mr. R each month. By employing this system, Mr. Fig. 2 shows the percentage of three main expenses generally
R saves on the investment of the placement of and pick up from associated with clothing recycling. In the collection sector, Mr.
collection bins around the city. R Company needs to pay for package bags (containers) which
accounts for only 2% of overall expenses, which is far below
D.Mr. R Input and Output that of the averages shown in Fig. 2 (normally this expense is
Table I illustrates how under Mr. R’s Reverse Logistics 10%), while in the transportation sector, it pays alliance
System, the company and its alliance members cooperate in members’ fees (0.2 Yuan per kg recycled clothes) which

International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 13(5) 2019 306 ISNI:0000000091950263
 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
International Journal of Environmental and Ecological Engineering
Vol:13, No:5, 2019

accounts for 15% (normally this expense is above 50%). operations. These partners can increase their revenue by
Table III illustrates the benefits for member cooperation providing reverse logistics services to Mr. R Company, while
under the strategic alliance. From the alliance member’s point lowering the collection and transportation cost for the used
of view, they receive additional revenue from Mr. R for clothing recycler. As a result, both sides will reach an economy
providing collection services, while utilizing their return trip scale. This case shows that it is easy to utilize the available
transportation. From the Mr. R Company point of view, it uses return capacity of trucks in the same city, such as Chengdu.
the light-asset business model to lower their colleting and Comparing with the traditional clothing recycling company,
transportation costs. In this way, Mr. R is focused only on the this case provides a new business model. As an IT company,
sorting and recycling sectors. Mr. R conducts its clothing cycling business using a light asset
business model under a sharing economy. Firstly, Mr. R
TABLE I developed a mobile APP, which is its core competence. Table II
COOPERATING SECTORS BETWEEN ALLIANCE MEMBERS AND MR. R.
shows that its R&D expense is about 5% of total revenues,
Input Alliance members Mr. R
while wages account for 30%. Secondly, Mr. R builds strategic
Collecting √
alliances to share the membership’s advantages, such as
Package containers √
transportation capacity and convenient location instead of
Transportation √
doing so by itself. In this way, Mr. R lowers its investment in
Open Science Index, Environmental and Ecological Engineering Vol:13, No:5, 2019 waset.org/Publication/10010321

Warehouse √
Sorting √ the collection and transportation sectors. The strategic alliance
Reuse √ provides complementary advantages for both side and allows
Remanufacture √ them to reach an economy scale. Thus, this business model is
Recycling √ worth promoting.

TABLE II ACKNOWLEDGMENT
MR. R COMPANY ALL EXPENSES AS A PERCENTAGE
The author would like to thank the Mr. R Company for
Expense Accounted for
providing data, field research and interview opportunities.
Sorting workers’ wages 30%
The research funds by: (1) 2017 Beijing Social Science Fund
Sorting warehouse rental 8%
Transportation from sorting to reuse, etc. 5%
Project. Key Projects of the Social Science Program of the
Package bags 2%
Beijing Education Committee: Research on the Cultivation of
Pay for alliance members’ fee 15% Beijing Residents’ Awareness of the Green Consumption
R&D 5% Concept and Related Educational Approaches
Supervisions wages 30% (SZ20171001209); (2) Construction of the Service Capability
Utilities and others 5% of Scientific and Technological Innovation. Transformation of
Scientific and Technological Achievements: Promotion Plan
TABLE III Project on Cooperative Development Research on Used
OUTPUT FOR BOTH UPON ALLIANCE Clothing Recycling and the Resource Utilization System in the
Output Alliance members Mr. R Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region (PXM2016_014216_000022).
Collecting Pay from Mr. R by weight of collecting
pay from Mr. R by weight of REFERENCES
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