Across Ireland, clothing banks are overflowing, leaving many wondering why their donated clothes are not being collected. The simple answer: the system that once managed second-hand textiles is breaking down. But the reality is more complex. At its core, this crisis stems from the sheer volume of clothing waste, declining markets for used textiles, and a regulatory landscape that is only beginning to catch up with the scale of the problem.
For decades, Ireland had no formal national textile waste management strategy. In fact, we don’t even have a definition of what textile waste is.
Nationally, we discard 170 000 tons of textiles each year (or 35k per capita). That makes us the second most wasteful country in the EU when it comes to fashion. Out of this staggering figure, only 35% is being collected, while the remaining 65% is simply going through the mixed waste stream and most likely burnt. Knowing that the majority of clothes are made of fossil fuel and comprise many chemicals, this isn’t an ideal solution at all.
When it comes to the collected clothes clothing banks, primarily operated by private companies, have long been the main collection points, with most of the collected textiles being exported. However, this system was built on an assumption that there would always be a market for second-hand clothing abroad.
That assumption no longer holds, and that is for multiple reasons.
The rise of fast fashion in the last 20 years and ultra-fast fashion in the last 5 is having a significant impact on the second-hand market.
Disposable culture is dominating the industry: we buy 60% more clothes but wear them 34% less longer than in the 2000s.
The problem is: we are caught in a throwaway mindset and culture around fashion. We’re producing and discarding clothes at such an unsustainable rate that we are creating a waste crisis we can’t manage. Right now, only 1% of discarded textiles are recycled into new clothing internationally. Around 6–10% are reused, and about 15% are downcycled. That still leaves at least 74% of all discarded clothes—roughly 92 million tons—ending up in landfill or incineration every year. To put it into perspective, that’s the equivalent of a truckload of textile waste being dumped every single second.
Charity shops and private second-hand sellers are being overwhelmed by a flood of cheap, low-quality clothing with little to no resale value. The reality is simple: if a garment was only a few euros to begin with, it’s nearly impossible to resell it at a price that makes collection, sorting, and retailing financially viable. This is making it harder for charity shops and other local reuse initiatives to cover their operational costs, let alone generate the funds they need to support their charitable work.
Recent events have further shaken the second-hand clothing supply chain, exposing just how fragile and unsustainable the system has become.
For years, Ukraine played a key role in processing Europe's discarded clothing. Shipments of used garments from across the continent were sent there for sorting before being redistributed worldwide—whether for reuse, downcycling, or disposal. But the war in Ukraine has severely disrupted this process, drastically reducing Europe’s sorting capacity and leaving more second-hand clothing with nowhere to go.
At the same time, countries in the Global South are pushing back against textile waste disguised as donations. Many nations—particularly in Africa—have begun restricting textile imports as the quality of second-hand shipments has plummeted. Increasingly, these bales contain soiled, damaged, or even deliberately slashed clothing, rendering them useless for resale. The Or Foundation has reported and called out the practice of waste colonialism. This notion is used to describe the actions of wealthier nations offloading their waste onto communities with limited waste management infrastructure across multiple sectors like plastic, wee and increasingly textiles. With growing public awareness and more documentation of these harmful practices, the ability to do it quietly is shrinking and the perpetrators are facing push back. If receiving nations were to cut off the import of used textiles all together, following the example of China banning the import of plastic waste altogether in 2019, we would be facing an even greater textile waste crisis.
Now, Europe must reckon with the sheer scale of its clothing waste problem. Having fewer options to send used clothes elsewhere, we are forced to confront the root causes of textile overproduction and waste—and finally take real action to fix them.
From January 1, 2025, all EU member states must have separate collection systems for textiles. The idea is to boost reuse and recycling, but Ireland—like many others—lacks the infrastructure to properly sort and process these textiles at scale.
The problem is timing. The EU is working on an ambitious set of laws to make fashion more circular, many of the key measures—like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which makes producers pay a fee to fund reuse and waste management—won’t be fully in place until 2028-2030. That leaves a five-year gap where countries are expected to collect more textiles without the necessary systems in place to actually do anything with them.
In the meantime, national and local governments need to step up. Supporting circular economy initiatives shouldn’t wait for EU mandates; it’s a collective responsibility to address textile waste at every level. To truly shift towards a circular economy, governments must invest in public awareness, better sorting, recycling, and reuse infrastructure while also addressing the root issue: overproduction and overconsumption. And that is precisely what is missing from the debate.
Even if every EU regulation were implemented perfectly—if we built new sorting facilities, expanded reuse systems, and improved recycling technology—it still wouldn’t be enough. The sheer volume of textile waste is overwhelming, and the system simply cannot keep up.
Fast fashion brands continue to flood the market with cheap, disposable clothing, and global textile production is projected to rise by 63% by 2030. The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) aims to improve garment durability and recyclability, but better design alone won’t solve the crisis if brands keep producing at unsustainable levels. Until we curb overproduction and overconsumption, waste will continue piling up—no matter how advanced our waste management systems become.
The good news? There is a better way forward. A thriving fashion industry doesn’t have to rely on endless growth and waste. Instead, we can build a system based on sufficiency, circularity, and new business models that prioritize quality, longevity, and fair labour practices over sheer volume.
Change is already happening. Across Europe, businesses, cooperatives, and local initiatives are proving that fashion can be profitable without being wasteful. Repair services, clothing rental models, resale platforms, and community-led reuse initiatives are growing. Forward-thinking brands are designing garments meant to last, using durable, repairable, and recyclable materials rather than churning out disposable trends. Policies like France’s tax incentives for repair and recycling show that governments can play a role in shifting the market toward sustainability. We can and have to go even further by tackling fast fashion directly.
