The Basel process was expected to produce new controls on textile waste exports. Instead, it has exposed uncertainty over what counts as waste, what is actually being traded and whether the original diagnosis was correct.
The second-hand and textile reuse sector appears cautiously optimistic after last week’s Basel Convention negotiations in Geneva. No new global controls for used clothes were decided, but industry representatives contacted by Reuse News describe the discussions as more constructive than many had feared.
Used textiles and textile waste moved further into global waste negotiations in Geneva. But Reuse News’ reporting shows that the evidence behind claims of large-scale second-hand waste exports remains disputed.
The OR Foundation helped popularise the claim that up to 40 percent of imported second-hand clothing in Ghana becomes waste. As the narrative gained influence in media and policy circles, the organisation's funding and global profile grew dramatically.
A year-long Reuse News investigation examines the evidence behind textile waste export claims and how those claims are influencing global textile policy, trade and circular systems.
How did disputed textile waste claims become embedded in international policy discussions? This investigation examines how a widely repeated narrative travelled from reports and media coverage into regulatory debates shaping the future of global textile reuse.
Claims that 40 percent of imported second-hand clothing becomes waste have shaped international debate and policy discussions. But traders, researchers and industry representatives question whether the economics behind the narrative make sense.
Debatten om miljöeffekterna av global second-hand-handel växer snabbt i takt med nya exportregler och policyförslag. Men hur stark är egentligen evidensen bakom antagandet att handeln driver miljöproblem i mottagarländer?
EU waste shipment rules and Basel Convention debates are placing second-hand textile exports at the centre of textile policy. But most environmental impacts occur earlier in the production chain.
Second-hand clothing is increasingly being regulated through trade and waste governance frameworks. A UNECE/ECLAC study highlights how the product-versus-waste distinction may reshape global reuse markets.
As Basel Convention rules on used textiles come under review, the classification of garments as waste or goods is emerging as a key fault line for global reuse markets and textile trade.
