The Global Textile Recycling Hub

Making Textile Recycling Possible, Profitable and Sustainable.

A key player in the textile supply chain, Canam Group has been a corporate leader in the textile recycling industry since the early 90’s. 

Our Major Suppliers Include

Employees worldwide

0 +

mostly women, and the majority are underprivileged citizens of third world countries.

Clothing (pounds)

0 billion +

redirected from landfills.

Men working at a clothing recycling business
Bags of clothing stored at a clothing recycling business
About Canam Group

"We Are A Leader In The Textile Recycling Industry"

Recognized and accepted in over 40 countries for their ethical and transparent business practices, Canam Group has been a partial link in the global textile supply chain since the early 90’s.

With over 2 billion pounds of textile waste redirected and thousands of lives changed, Canam promotes a sustainable environment and safe community by providing underprivileged demographics with employment opportunities and mentorship, all while being treated as part of a family.

Canam advocates for a closed loop, circular textile economy by re-using, downcycling, and mechanically recycling textiles, which entails processing nearly half a million pounds of textiles per day! In the future, they look forward to investing in new, chemical recycling technologies, once they reach economies of scale. This would allow for more upcycling and high quality textile to textile recycling. This is ultimately the end goal of textile recycling as it would essentially create a closed loop system and achieve the holy grail of textile circularity and sustainability.

Our Process

Procurement and Processing

Step 1: Procure

We purchase textiles in bulk from thrift stores and charities across North America, Japan, Australia, etc.

We also purchase directly from the public. Bring your clothes to a drop-off location near you. Put them on the scale and get paid by the pound.

Step 2: Process

We sort, grade, and pack the clothing for shipments to over 40 countries.

We also remove buttons, zippers, and mutilate unwanted textiles for recycling.

Step 3: Recycle

Approximately 40% is reused while our associates downcycle the remaining textiles by mechanically shredding them before re-spinning the fibers for use in lower value products like insulation, wipers, carpets, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

F.A.Q
News

Canam in the News

Old Clothes Go Global | Seattle Times

Seattle Times, Sun 25th Feb, 2007
by Paula Bock

Man Who's Made Riches from Rags | Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times, Chandigarh Oct 23rd, by Ravinder Banwait.

Mr. Darshan Singh Sahsi (Managing Director, Canam International) at the International Trade Committee

OpenParliament.ca

Fast Fashion Waste is Choking Developing Countries With Mountains of Trash

Bloomberg

Doctor of Textiles

AIM2Flourish Article, by Navi Sahsi.

Our Vintage Retail Associates

We are proud to have partnered with several vintage clothing retailers, who contribute to the circular textile economy. These are some of our major retailer partners in Canada.

Pilot Projects and Textile Recycling Research

Our Team

Meet the Team

Darshan Sahsi

President

The child of a Sikh farmer, Darshan grew up in Punjab, India. His commendable work ethic and business acumen has allowed him to establish a successful textile recycling corporation which employs over 1000 people and has redirected over 2 billion pounds of clothing away from landfills. In his free time he enjoys going for walks with his wife, and listening to his favorite radio and news channels.

Darshan Sahsi

Kamal Kalra, GM

General Manager

As GM from day one, Kamal handles everything from finances to logistics. He is the first and last point of information for every detail of operations. He is a valuable and critical part of the team. Kamal and his family also operate a pizza shop in Abbotsford called Pizza Junction.

Kamal Kalra, GM

Navi Sahsi

Director of Sustainability

Oldest son of Darshan and Schulich MBA graduate specializing in sustainability, Navi is currently researching industry and technological trends while cooperating with textile recycling stakeholders including major cities and retailers through recycling pilot projects and feasibility studies to assess the direction and viability of North American textile recycling in the future.

Navi Sahsi

Arpan Sahsi

Managing Director

Youngest Son of Darshan, Arpan is a UBC Business graduate with honors. Arpan is focusing on the collection aspect of the business, while studying to complete his MBA.

Arpan Sahsi