Researchers call for urgent action to address this anarchic side of fashion industry
Clothing waste is produced by people living in rich cities but their environmental impacts are … [+]
The bourgeois buy and reject more clothes than ever. Somewhere between 80 and 150 billion Clothing types are produced every year. This is 10 – 19 objects for each person on earth. UNEP she says that ‘the average person buys 60 percent more clothes than 15 years ago, while each species is only maintained for half a year “but these numbers are Since 2016. In a world full of quick and extremely fast fashion, it seems likely that things have worsened further since.
The environmental impact of all these clothes are shocking. Production of fabrics requires huge amounts of water – a simple cotton shirt consumes as much water as a person would need to live for 2.5 years. 2700 liters (713 gallons). In fact, the fashion industry as a whole consumes more water than the almost any other industry; Only Georgia defeats it.
World fiber production – which includes all fibers that are “used for clothes, household fabrics, footwear or any other application” – reached a high record in 2023. While wool and cotton are still popular, synthetic fibers now dominate the landscape. Polyester, which is a type of oil made of oil made, takes first place, with about 70 million metric tones being manufactured that year. 57 % of total fiber production.
These statistics are reflected in the consumer market for textiles. For example, polyester represents More than 75 % of the “fiber portfolio” of the extremely fast fashion shienne. And even more worrying is that the overwhelming majority (87.5 %) of polyester produced in 2023 was a virgin or non -recycled, which means that “new” fossil fuels were used for its construction. For Nylon – the second most used synthetic fiber – only 2% came from recycled sources.
As a result, the fashion industry emission continues to grow. 2018 was estimated to be responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions. If no measures are taken, may well reach 26% by 2050. According to their own references, Shien doubled her broadcasts in a single year. from 9.17 million metric tonnes in 2022 to 16.68 million metric tonnes in 2023. These are the same greenhouse gas emissions as they produce four million petrol passenger vehicles in one year.
Small species and charity shops are erupted thanks to the rapid growth of extremely fast … [+]
Urban footprint of fast fashion
But our obsession with clothes also has much more visible implications. Shelves full of jam in charity stores on High Street. Full of bins in retail stores and outdoor markets. Piles of clothes in urban landfills and landfills. These are the indicators that Rmit researcher Dr. Yassie Samie And her colleagues have focused on the new, first study of their kind.
Was published in Cities of natureSamie research examines what is happening with textiles when consumers decide that they no longer want them. They focused on the fate of these fabrics after consuming nine wealthy cities – Amsterdam, Austin, Berlin, Geneva, Luxembourg, Manchester, Melbourne, Oslo and Toronto. One of the challenges faced by the team was the lack of data available for the rejected fabrics. “The reason for this is that textiles are not subject to any arrangement at all,” Samie said, speaking to me from Melbourne, where it is based. “It is also a relatively newcomer as a waste category, which means that most solid waste management studies do not even include it.”
Thus, Samie and its co-authors had to gather relevant information about each city through a series of sources-political and other government documents, academic literature, the so-called “gray literature” (reports published by NGOs) and through detailed Interviews with representatives from cities, charities and waste management organizations – basically anyone involved in the process of dealing with rejected textiles.
From this, they found that in most high -income cities they studied, the collection and sorting of textile products after consumption (PCTs) do not manage councils, but charities and commercial resellers. This makes charities “… the most important PCT collectors in rich cities”. The exception to this was Amsterdam, where municipal authorities manage the rejected textiles. This is something, says Samie, it is unlikely to change in the future “Charity organizations have always been part of the solution and will continue to be because they have this factor of trust, this community factor and a wealth of knowledge.”
The cows look at the largest dump where they end up with textile waste in Old Fadama at the Ghana ends, … [+]
But charities are struggling to face the current flood of low quality donations. In Geneva rates have increased 1200% in three decades. 3000 metric tons of goods were sent to the city’s charity shops only in 2021 – this is about the same weight as twenty statues of freedom (without the base).
And while some unwanted fabrics arrive at a local charity, the study showed that most of them are exported to overseas markets. 97% of the clothes donated to Oslo are completely shipped from Norway. In Luxembourg, only 3-4 % of incoming donations are redistributed or reselling locally. Destinations for these exports are usually poorer countries in the world south. Once there, these non -biodegradable waste can cause destruction in the local environment. It is no surprise, this practice is now described as’garbage colonialism”.
The wealthy cities that make their rejected fabrics, someone else’s problem is a situation that cannot continue, Samie says, if we want to achieve our climate goals.
So what can we do?
In terms of waste, you have probably already heard of the three Rs – reduction, reuse, recycling. But these are actually part of a wider frame, called the Circular economy 3.0 that focuses less on the waste management and more for avoiding Waste, making the materials we produce to last as long as possible. In this context, there are ten Rs – rejection (R0), reduction (R1), resale/reuse (R2), repair (R3), renovation (R4), reconstruction (R5), reset (R6), recycling of materials (R7 ), Energy Recovery (R8), Re-Mine (R9).
For Samie, much more focus on the first two Rs – rejection and reduction – should be given because they reduce demand for new resources. “Over -consumption and overproduction are just beyond understanding. And no matter how much we try to have systems in our cities that can handle it, when we produce and consume too much, it’s just too much. “
The average Australian buys 56 new clothes each yearmaking the country the second largest clothing consumer in the world per capita after the US. “Yes, we also have a fantastic culture here to donate charity and buy from charity, but with these numbers, you can see that it is simply not enough. We cannot digest the amount of new textiles produced, “he says.
Repair workshops and conversion services can help your clothes last longer
The next two Rs – resale/reuse and repair – can also reduce demand, but only if taking these actions prevents people from buying a new product. This is an area where local governments, urban planners and charities can play a big role, Samie says. “I would like to see more used and exchanges stores, as well as places for repairs and changes to locations where families are already going to large cities – shopping malls and large retail parks. Not just on the main road. Adopting these other business models can help charities to reduce their dependence on immediate resale or exports. “
“After all, we want to create smaller, local loops for the things we make and use, instead of the harmful, wasteful, global practices we have now.”
Actions of Local Government must be intensified
Samie stressed that every city that the team studied had some incredible base initiatives that are slowly being destroyed in the mountain of textiles. But for a true, sustainable change to happen, urgent action is required at the level of municipal administration and politics.
On this front, it is carefully optimistic. “Since the beginning of 2025, all EU states oblige for the development of exclusive collection of used fabrics. Separate it from other solid waste is a very important first step. It is easier to reuse, recycling, all these other activities. It also gives us a clearer picture of the scale of the problem. “
The hope is that this EU move will push other countries to take into account textile waste, but Samie says, this must be done quickly. “We are in a road race against extremely fast fashion that continues to increase production. I hope it’s not too late. ”