Shipments of used clothing from the EU to Africa have recently increased sharply, Der Spiegel writes. As the publication notes, Europe exported 1.7 million tons of old textiles in 2019, a large proportion of which arrive in Africa already in a damaged state and are therefore sent straight to landfill.
Over the past two decades, the amount of old textiles exported from the EU to Africa has increased, Der Spiegel wrote, referring to the results of research by the European agency EEA. At the same time the authors of the study note that not all of these textiles is used as intended, and this is a serious challenge.
Europe exports some of its old, second-hand clothes to Asia and Africa because its own capacity to recycle textiles is limited, it says. However, environmentalists say the fate of the exported products is untraceable. In 2000, the EU exported 550,000 tons of textiles, and in 2019 that figure was already nearly 1.7 million tons.
46% of all old textiles are deposited in Africa, Der Spiegel writes. According to the EEA, clothes are finding use because there is a demand for cheap, old clothes in African countries. However, not all of the clothes are used, and unnecessary textiles are thrown in open rubbish dumps. As for Asia, there, European old textiles are mostly used for recycling or for filling, but some of it still ends up in landfills.
A fortnight ago, the Changing Markets Foundation cited statistics from Kenya, Der Spiegel reports. Approximately 900 million pieces of old clothing from the EU were imported into the country in 2021. However, about a third of all these textiles are classified as “hidden plastic waste”, as most of the clothes delivered consist of polyester. Many pieces of old clothing arrive in Kenya already damaged and therefore go straight to landfill.
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