In 2000, the EU exported more than 550,000 tons of waste textiles; In 2019, this increased to 1.7 million tons, equivalent to 8.4 pounds of textile waste per person per year. Comparing the EU's annual consumption of about 15 pounds of textiles per person shows that more than half of all textiles are exported to Asia and Africa for downcycle, or sent to landfills.
The European Environment Agency report highlights that consumers donate used clothes with the vision that second-hand clothes will be reused by those in need, but the truth is often contrary.
In fact, whether the exported waste textiles can be effectively reused has been full of great uncertainty.
According to the report, Africa imports most of Europe's waste textiles, accounting for 46% of Europe's total exports, some of which are resold on the secondary market, but a large part of it is still a sustainable textile waste. Asia imports 41% of EU textile waste, with some downcycled for industrial filler reuse.
The largest importer of second-hand textiles in Asia is Pakistan. Here, about half of used textiles are downcycled to industrial products.
Ghana, as the world's sixth largest garment importer, has a thriving second-hand clothing market. However, with the fact that fast fashion, whose quality cannot be guaranteed in the past few years, was once "favored" by the market, the recyclability rate of second-hand clothing was greatly reduced, and finally became a garbage that troubled the human ecological environment. In addition, the report notes that these textile wastes end up in landfills, incinerated or disposed of directly in rivers and oceans, causing severe air, soil and water pollution.
As the report mentions: "In principle, exported waste textiles can be reused in the receiving country; But in reality, these hard-to-reuse waste textiles are often downcycled, sent straight to landfills or sent to landfills. ”
Codes used to record both the condition and fiber composition of textiles are often confused, making it difficult to track waste as it arrives in other countries. The report notes that there is a lack of specific research and information on the actual reuse rate of waste textiles in recipient countries, the proportion of used textiles that end up as waste, specific waste management systems, and the capacity to deal with used textiles that are difficult to recycle sustainably.
With the closure of textile waste exports to countries in the Global South, Europe also faces great challenges in disposing of its own second-hand textiles.
In addition, by 2025, EU countries will need to collect and sort textiles separately from other wastes; In addition, the EU has introduced regulations restricting the export of second-hand textiles to developing countries, and a list of prohibited textiles is expected to be established by the end of this year.
At the same time, the European Environment Agency report highlights that Europe does not have the capacity to recycle most of the second-hand clothing and footwear it produces. In 2019, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi plan to phase out second-hand textile imports from industrialized countries.
According to the report, while biofibers derived from trees, such as man-made fibers or viscose, are often seen by the fashion industry as a more environmentally friendly alternative, biofibers themselves have structural problems.
Although the use of bio-fibers has eliminated oil-based and plastic textiles such as polyester, it has also caused other environmental threats, such as water and land resource consumption from agricultural activities, deforestation and fiber processing. The report states: "Bio-based properties do not free biofibers from environmental problems such as releasing microfibers, generating waste and being recyclable." ”WWD
Written by Editorial Office
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