Where does all the used clothing go?

When you have exhausted the options to repair or restyle an item from your wardrobe, folks often donate them to second hand clothing resellers by dropping them in ‘bins’ that are often found in parking lots. Sometimes, these companies also donate some portion of their profits to charities.

These companies then go through and sort your donations for what is salvageable or can be resold, and turn them around for a profit. Lower quality clothing is bundled by item type (for example, men’s jeans, or kids jackets) and baled and sold overseas, usually to the global south (there is a fair amount of press about the Katamanto market in Ghana, and the associated ecosystem of clothing dumping).

If items are no longer wearable, they will probably go to landfill. However, they can also sometimes be shredded up and uses as carpet padding or insulation, which also end up in landfill.

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What is textile waste?