The amount of second-hand textiles exported from the bloc has tripled over the past 20 years, according to the European Environment Agency
The European Union is exporting about 90% of its used clothes and textile waste to Africa and Asia, a trend that is having a dire ecological impact, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has warned. The EEA has ranked textile waste as the fourth-highest source of environmental pressure and climate change resulting from EU consumption.
The bloc’s countries generate approximately 5.8 million metric tons of textile waste per year, with only a quarter of this being recycled due to limited “reuse and recycling capacities.” The majority is shipped, in some cases as a donation, to Africa and Asia, where low-cost secondhand clothing is in high demand.
“The perception of used clothing donations as generous gifts to people in need does not fully match reality,” the EEA said in a recent report. It added that…
