The used clothing market

In your last post, Gisela commented on society's growing concern with the final destination of products after use by the consumer. Reverse logistics practiced by beverage companies, electronics, batteries, tires and light bulbs has become popular and is already recognized by part of the population. The same recognition, however, is not observed in the clothing market.

In the last decade we witnessed the growth of the fast fashion. Chains like Zara, H&M and Forever 21 have conquered the world by quickly and easily bringing trends seen on the fashion catwalks to the population. The dozens of annual collections launched by these networks, however, helped accelerate the disposal of clothing. In order to be able to purchase items from collections that are displayed in shop windows every two weeks, consumers also began to dispose of items in their closets more quickly. This movement boosted another market, unknown to a large part of the population: the used clothing market.

Figure 1 – Annual revenue from the global used clothing trade

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Every month, thousands and thousands of used clothes arrive at the Port of Kandla, located in India, to be reused. A large part of the pieces are sold by charities in developed countries to intermediaries and reach India, or other centers of the global network for the reuse of second-hand clothes, to be recycled or resold to developing countries.

The process begins with the separation of parts. While some workers sift through the piles of clothes in search of precious objects like coins and watches, others look for pieces of haute couture brands with the help of posters to help them recognize items from brands like Armani and Prada. Then, the clothes are divided by type and color, with stained, torn or oversized pieces separated to be transformed into less noble items.

Of the total amount of clothing, only 30% is resold as it arrived. The rest have their zippers and buttons removed to be reused and the fabric torn to be used as rags in workshops or transformed into fibers that will later become blankets used by humanitarian institutions.

Despite India being one of the major centers of the global clothing reuse network, the sale of items is prohibited in the country to reduce competition with the local textile market. The same has happened in other developing countries, a fact that, added to the economic slowdown observed in some African countries – the continent is the destination of around 90% of parts – has been impacting demand and, consequently, the entire business.

The accumulation of clothes without a destination worries both the companies that are part of the recycling chain and the governments and society, which question the environmental impacts that the increase in the disposal of clothes can bring. The H&M chain already offers discounts for customers who bring used clothes and practices recycling clothes internally. The expectation is that other companies will take similar initiatives and that the textile chain will also be charged for the disposal of clothes after use by the consumer.

For those interested in the subject, the mini-documentary Unravel shows a little more of this recycling network through the eyes of Indian women, revealing an enormous economic and cultural difference between countries.

References

<http://www.wsj.com/articles/fast-fashion-cast-offs-fuel-global-recycling-network-1466962488>

<http://br.wsj.com/articles/SB12492349878592523674804582155470553547632>

<https://ilos.com.br/web/custo-ambiental-entrara-na-conta-do-consumidor/>