To decrease the environmental burden of the textile industry and at the same time reduce textile waste, the fibers of discarded textiles can be re-used into new yarns and fabrics. The shortening of fibers during mechanical shredding direct the use of the recovered fibers to low value products. With the use of a lubricant pre-treatment on cotton and polyester fabrics, we decreased the friction during shredding. The reduction in friction was shown with a developed inter-fiber friction test. Further, the pre-treatment was shown to give longer recovered fibers and eliminate melted areas in polyester material.