Second Spin, Ascott India Partner To Repurpose Hotel Linen Waste
Textile recovery venture gives discarded linens a second life through upcycling and recycling
Second Spin, a circular textile recovery venture formerly known as Retex, is gaining momentum in India with its mission to tackle institutional linen waste. Focused on hotels, hospitals, and spas, the initiative aims to keep discarded textiles out of landfills through a city-based collection and recycling model.
India generates more than 220 tonnes of textile waste daily in cities like Bengaluru, with institutional sectors accounting for nearly 22% of it. Traditionally, much of this waste was incinerated or dumped, contributing to environmental degradation and the loss of valuable fiber worth an estimated USD 1.2 billion annually.
Second Spin is working to change that. Through its scalable model, the venture collects, sorts, and transforms used linens into high-quality recycled products such as yarns, felt, and paper. Their latest collaboration is with Ascott India, a leading hospitality brand, starting with seven flagship properties and more in the pipeline.
“This collaboration enables hotels to embed circularity into their operations,” said Radhika Datta, Co-Founder of Second Spin. “Partners like Ascott India demonstrate that sustainability can go hand-in-hand with guest comfort and operational efficiency.”
Ascott India has already adopted a range of green initiatives such as water recycling, reduced use of single-use plastics, and tree-free paper. The new partnership with Second Spin strengthens their ESG performance by ensuring discarded linens are repurposed instead of wasted.
“At Citadines OMR Chennai, we’ve already recovered 2 tonnes of textiles through this partnership,” said Prashanth Rajkumar, General Manager. “This initiative goes beyond compliance, it’s part of our identity.”
Prasanna Raghavan, Head of Finance & Sustainability at Ascott India, added, “This collaboration aligns seamlessly with our sustainability goals and allows us to contribute meaningfully to the circular economy.”
Since the launch of its updated model, Second Spin has recovered over 45,000 kg of used hotel linens across 30+ partners marking a shift in how the hospitality sector addresses textile waste.
