A recent LinkedIn post by the European Commission has triggered a lively discussion about how Europeans manage their old clothes, just days after the implementation of the revised EU Waste Framework Directive.

A coalition of representatives from the global textiles collection, reuse, and recycling sectors — joined by policymakers and academic experts — has issued an open letter to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), raising serious concerns about the integrity, methodology, and practical implications of UNEP’s Circularity and Used Textile Trade Project.

The collection of clothes and textiles has quickly become a logistical and economic trial for many actors in Europe. Two of the largest operators in Germany have filed for insolvency, and collection organizations in Sweden are struggling to keep operations running. "It's a system on the brink of collapse," says Cristofer Ståhlgren and Lars Råsberg from Human Bridge, Sweden's largest collector of used clothes. "Is this really what they intended?" they ask. Human Bridge has agr

When the EU decided that all member states must start collecting textiles separately by 2025, the aim was clear: to reduce one of the most environmentally harmful waste streams and create conditions for reuse and recycling. But the first attempts in several countries have backfired massively and actually worsened the problem. At the same time there is a constant push for the false narrative about textile waste from second-hand export to African countries. This obscures the vi

Is Europe dumping its clothing waste in African countries? The evidence says it's not. Instead the current reporting on textile waste points to a narrative that has misled journalists, politicians, environmental activists, and the public alike. But how could such a widespread misperception take root?

For several years Ghana has been labelled a dumping ground for Europe’s discarded clothing. But where are the mountains of second-hand garments? We couldn't find them.

"Few industries might be so misunderstood as our industry. This is particularly sad when these misconceptions start to influence politicians and other decision makers" These are the words from Örjan Österdal, CEO of Humana Second Hand Fundraising Projects, one of Europe's largest second-hand clothing enterprises. A non-profit enterprise that´s been a part of the second-hand trading since the nineties.