6 kilos per person: Where do our old clothes go?

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In fact, we all know the solution, but most of the time we choose to remain the problem: We buy too many new clothes instead of wearing them for a long time. If all clothes were worn for three years longer in Switzerland, 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 would be released every year₂ save money. This is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of a 7.4 billion kilometer car journey.

What happens to old clothes thrown into clothing containers? “The vast majority of old clothes are exported to Eastern Europe, East and West Africa for formal reuse. “But Greenpeace Germany’s visit to Kenya and Tanzania shows that these are largely empty promises,” says Barbara Wegmann (38), consumer and circular economy expert at Greenpeace Switzerland, citing a study conducted in Germany. However, Wegmann believes that clothes from Switzerland can also reach Africa: “Yes, we assume that old clothes collected in Switzerland will also reach Africa.”

Poor quality

Blick’s request to Texaid, one of Switzerland’s largest textile collectors, remained unanswered. Their website says: “Every year the Texaid Group collects over 80,000 tonnes of old clothing and reuses it in an ecologically responsible way. 40 percent of the collected textile products are in such poor condition that they cannot be worn as second-hand clothing. This trend is increasing as the trend of cheap and cheaply produced clothing continues.

Apart from the incredible and unmanageable amount of old clothes, the poor quality of clothes is also a big problem. Up to 69 percent of clothing fibers are synthetic, meaning they are made of plastic. When our cheap clothes rot in landfills in Africa, these microplastic fibers enter the environment unfiltered. Or in other words: Micro particles of our fiber fur jackets and cheap clothes get into the water, contaminating the elixir of life of humans and animals. The Fashion Revolution Swiss network estimates that 35 percent of microplastics in the oceans come from textiles.

It might be better to throw the clothes away

So is it better to throw away broken, cheap synthetic clothes here in Switzerland? “Yes, as bad as it sounds,” Wegmann advises. Because here in Switzerland the waste is at least burned correctly so that microplastics are not released into the environment. “But it would be much better not to buy such clothes in the first place,” he explains.

He also simply recommends: “Buy less. Buy high quality. Use it for as long as possible.” In order to use your clothes for as long as possible, instead of stuffing them into your clothes bag, you should distribute them to your friends, take them to clothing shopping malls or sell them on online platforms. “Of course it requires more effort, but it often results in nice social contacts,” says Wegmann. And if clothes break, you can always make cleaning cloths from them. “Or why not ask a workshop if they would like to use the broken pieces as rags?” he asks.

The research is also in favor of wearing and using clothes for longer periods of time: “Mechanical recycling without adding new materials is always downcycling, even in clothes. “Thus, a less valuable raw material is created,” said Claudia Som (55), research assistant at the materials research institute Empa ” Som says Empa is investigating “resource-saving chemical recycling, which should produce a new raw material.” Until then, it makes more sense to use clothes for as long as possible.

Som also recommends better use and recycling of production waste by companies instead of consumer waste from the PET bottle cycle. Manufacturing waste is also of high quality and can be recycled more easily and often with less energy.

6 kilos of old clothes per person

Greenpeace also wants to hold fashion companies accountable: “They must deliver on their sustainability promises and produce fewer clothes that are better quality, more durable, repairable and reusable.” Fast fashion chains are releasing new collections at shorter intervals every day. According to Fashion Revolution, we buy an average of 60 new clothes a year. According to the Federal Environment Agency, six kilograms of clothing per person end up in used clothing collections in Switzerland every year.

According to Greenpeace, footage and inspection of clothing storage sites in Tanzania and Kenya showed: “We are outsourcing our waste problem with false promises to countries that do not have the infrastructure to deal with it.”

Source :Blick