ALL VIDEOS IN ONE PLACE
The mountains of textile waste is not textiles. It's plastic.
Mountains textile waste. That image has travelled the world — repeated, amplified and turned into a defining narrative about textile waste in Africa. But when we went there, the picture changed completely. What had been described as textile waste was mostly something else
Produced: June 2026
The elusive truth behind the second-hand export debate | Part 1
The global second-hand trade is not a charity system. It is a business built on buying, sorting, shipping and reselling products across continents. Every bale imported into Ghana has already passed through collectors, sorters, exporters, shipping companies, customs, wholesalers and traders. At every stage, somebody pays.
Produced: May 2026
The elusive truth behind the second-hand export debate | Part 1
The amazing story about the mountains of textile waste in Ghana. Mountains that doesn´t exist, but nevertheless have been broadcasted all around the world as a major problem. Unfortunately these claims has also influenced policymakers and politicians within the EU, which has led to new regulations that actually threatens the circular system of clothes.
Produced: May 2025 by Thomas Lundkvist & Kristjan Sigurjonsson
"Not in anyones commercial interest to export textile waste"
Patrick Child, Acting DDG at European Commissions DG Environment, comments on the textile waste debate in an interview with Reuse News. He points to the importance of verifiable facts and correct information and places particular emphasis on avoiding false narratives and fake news.
He also adress the question about slow progress for working textile recycling processes.
Produced: October 2025 by Thomas Lundkvist & Kristjan Sigurjonsson
Kwame Owino:
News about textile waste not true
Kwame Owino is a prominent Kenyan economist and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya), a public policy think tank based in Nairobi. He has done extensive research on the second-hand industry in Kenya and here he is commenting the claims about textile waste in the second-hand imports.
Produced:March 2025 by Kristjan Sigurjonsson
The nobel art of sorting second-hand clothes
Perhaps the most important ingredient in the second-hand clothing trade chain is sorting. It is a craft that can take many years to become really good at.
We have visited Oman and one of the world's most efficient sorting facilities.
Produced: January 2025 by Kristjan Sigurjonsson
Hard times for collectors of clothes
Many collectors of second-hand clothes in Europe have a hard time since new rules for textiles came into play. Human Bridge is the largest collector in Sweden and their containers have been stopped at the border and ordered by the authorities to incinerate the clothes. Listen to Cristofer Ståhlgren when he tells the story about Human Bridge.
Produced: November-December 2024 by Kristjan Sigurjonsson
Reuse by far the best option for the climate
Maja Nellström is a researcher at IVL - Swedish Environmental Research Institute. Her team recently published a report examining and comparing climate impact from reuse (second-hand), recycling and incineration. The results are very clear. The best way for the climate is to extend the lifetime of clothes.
Produced: March 2025 by Kristjan Sigurjonsson