Kenya: Kenya's Cotton Leftovers Are Finding New Value

In Kenya, cotton waste is being transformed into valuable products such as briquettes, household textiles, and mattress filling. This emerging industry presents new income opportunities for farmers and women-led businesses. Peterson Mwadau, a cotton farmer from Kilifi County, used to consider cotton stalks and other residue as a disposal problem, but now sells them to local businesses.

These businesses collect the residue and supply enterprises that produce charcoal briquettes, which are then sold to various institutions for cooking. Cotton stalks, gin trash, factory offcuts, yarn sweepings, and fabric offcuts have traditionally been burned or discarded, contributing to air pollution and soil degradation. However, farmers are now being trained in value addition techniques to convert these materials into useful products.

Women-led self-help groups in Wote, Makueni County, are experimenting with carbonizing cotton stalks and gin trash to produce briquettes that burn longer and produce less smoke than wood charcoal. The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) is also playing a role in training farmers on value addition. In addition to cotton stalks, lower-grade cotton waste from factories and ginneries can be cleaned, sorted, and carded into filling materials for mattresses, cushions, vehicle seats, and pillows.

Nairobi-based circular-economy enterprise, Africa Collect, processes discarded textile offcuts and broken threads into high-quality products like blankets, mops, and kitchen-cleaning towels. Despite the growth of these waste-processing enterprises, some manufacturers still rely on imported cotton waste.