Recycling clothes significantly reduces fashion waste and the environmental impact associated with it. However, only around 25% of clothes are collected for reuse or recycling at a global level. There are large differences in collection rates from country to country as well. Even though some countries have high collection rates, much of the collected clothing is exported to other countries - particularly to Asia and Africa - which have weak or no collection infrastructure of their own. (5). Globally, just 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled. (7) One of the main reasons for this is the fact that sorting clothing fibers and materials by hand is labor-intensive, slow, and requires a skilled workforce.

Recycling clothing not only helps decrease the environmental impact of fashion waste by giving garments an extended life; it can also be used as a driver of social impact. Organizations and initiatives such as FabricAID do good on a social level by treating the clothes and reselling them at discounted prices that accommodate the needs of low-income and at-risk individuals.

Photo Source: Ellen McArthur Foundation

Recent changes in lifestyles have transformed clothing into a disposable commodity. As a result, consumers generate more and more clothing waste, which causes increasing environmental damage as the industry grows. The global clothing industry produces and sells between 80 and 150 billion pieces of clothing every year. Nearly 60% of all this ends up in landfills or burned in incinerators within a few years of being made. (4) Only in 2020, an estimated 18.6 million tonnes of clothing ended up in landfills. If current trends continue, over 150 million tonnes of clothing waste will be dumped in landfills by 2050. (5). Even worse: up to 95% of the textiles that are sent to landfills each year could be recycled. (6) The low rates of utilization of clothes and low levels of recycling are some of the main reasons why the fashion industry is so wasteful.

You can read more about fashion waste: World Economic Forum

Photo source: Priya Ahluwalia/Sweet Lassi

Textiles can take more than 200 years to decompose in landfills. There, natural fibers such as cotton and wool are trapped in giant piles of inorganic waste that do not let oxygen flow, which causes these organic fibers to decompose in a process known as anaerobic decomposition. This process releases large amounts of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere. The remaining dyes or chemicals can also leak out of clothes into the groundwater and soil, and cause severe harm to the surrounding environment. (6) If clothes waste is incinerated (burned) without control, the clothes can also release toxic substances into the atmosphere.

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Recycling clothes significantly reduces fashion waste and the environmental impact associated with it. However, only around 25% of clothes are collected for reuse or recycling at a global level. There are large differences in collection rates from country to country as well. Even though some countries have high collection rates, much of the collected clothing is exported to other countries - particularly to Asia and Africa - which have weak or no collection infrastructure of their own. (5). Globally, just 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled. (7) One of the main reasons for this is the fact that sorting clothing fibers and materials by hand is labor-intensive, slow, and requires a skilled workforce.

Recycling clothing not only helps decrease the environmental impact of fashion waste by giving garments an extended life; it can also be used as a driver of social impact. Organizations and initiatives such as FabricAID do good on a social level by treating the clothes and reselling them at discounted prices that accommodate the needs of low-income and at-risk individuals.

Photo Source: Ellen McArthur Foundation