Pressure on UNEP and Basel is building up: Used textiles not "waste"

The pressure on UNEP and Basel Convention is building up when it comes to classification of used textiles. Last week SMART (Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association) has submitted detailed formal comments to the Basel Convention Secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), strongly urging them to reject proposals that would reclassify used textiles as “waste,” “hazardous waste,” or “plastic waste.”

SMART cautions that such regulatory changes, though likely well-intentioned, would severely disrupt functioning circular-economy systems that keep billions of garments in circulation, support millions of livelihoods in developing economies, and prevent massive amounts of clothing from ending up in landfills.

The backbone of global circular economy

“Used textiles are not waste — they are the backbone of the global circular economy,” said Jessica Franken, Head of Government Affairs at SMART. She warned that classifying secondhand clothing as hazardous or waste could undermine systems already delivering significant environmental and social benefits.

What often is described as textile waste is actually plastic. Here from a beach in Ghana.

In its letter, SMART emphasizes that robust, data-driven research consistently shows that 80–95% of secondhand clothing exports are reused, resold, or repurposed, while only 5–10% prove unwearable—directly challenging outdated and methodologically weak studies often cited in policy debates.

SMART also highlights that these markets sustain millions of jobs in regions such as Africa, Latin America, and Asia, generate government revenues, and contribute meaningfully to global circularity. Furthermore, life-cycle analyses cited by SMART suggest that extending the life of garments through reuse dramatically reduces carbon emissions — by as much as 70-fold compared to producing new clothing.

Rejecting the proposed reclassifications, SMART argues, would preserve legitimate reuse and recycling flows. The association urges regulators to distinguish clearly between reusable goods and waste in trade codes, and to focus policy efforts upstream—targeting overproduction and fast fashion via Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) measures rather than penalizing reuse.

Pressure on UNEP and Basel is building up: used textiles is not waste

A couple of weeks ago sixteen organisations published an open letter directed to UNEP regarding concerns over flawed data and non-transparent processes, when it comes to used textiles, second-hand trade and waste. UNEP has not yet given any public answer to this, but the pressure on both UNEP and Basel is now building up regarding correct data and analysis about the second-hand trade and what should be considered facts and verifiable data.

Written by

Thomas Lundkvist

About SMART

The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) is a nonprofit international trade association founded in 1932. Its members — companies involved in collecting, sorting, and reusing or recycling both pre-consumer and post-consumer textiles — operate across the globe. SMART advocates for high standards and best practices in textile reuse and recycling, providing a forum for its members to network, educate, and influence policy.

Read more: Textile sector’s sharp rebuke: accuses UNEP of flawed used-textile guidelines