How Clothes Clogs Landfills

The Importance of Textile Recycling

19/12/2019

Australians throw away at least 10 garments every year.

The Consumerism Problem

There’s a serious consumerism problem around the world. Fast-fashion giants like H&M and Zara have mastered the fast-fashion model and continue to pump out new collections every few months to keep up with changing trends in the industry.

Fast-fashion has devastating consequences on the environment. From the manufacturing of textiles to their disposal, fast-fashion companies pollute the planet at every stage. Around 5% of global landfills are made up of textile waste. If we continue to consume fast-fashion at this rate, it won’t be long before landfills breach cities.

But isn’t most old clothing donated? And doesn’t the rest decompose?

Clothing Donations

Only a small segment of our clothes are donated, but even then, there’s no guarantee that donated used-clothes will make it to someone who needs them; meaning the rest of them are dumped into the landfills.

Don’t clothes decompose?

The majority of clothing today consists of a combination of synthetic and natural fibres. While natural fibres like cotton require huge amounts of water to produce, synthetic fibres contain the same polymers as plastic and can take more than 200 years to fully decompose.

Also, natural fibres that undergo bleaching, printing and dyeing infuse chemicals into the fabric that make it harder for them to decompose.

What makes the decomposition process even more harmful is the fact that landfills have limited levels of oxygen which causes irregular decomposition. Clothing undergoes anaerobic decomposition in landfills and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

What’s the Solution?

We desperately need to slow down the rate at which clothes are being dumped. In the meantime, we need to limit the amount of clothes we purchase and how we discard them.

Clothes should be donated to reputable charities that ensure that they reach the right hands. Clothing that can’t be donated, should be given to textile recycling facilities.

E’Co Wipes is a textile recycling company based in Australia. We specialize in recycling worn-out cotton textiles and converting them into high-quality rag wipers. Each one of our cleaning and polishing cloths is absorbent and made of durable materials. These cloths are made for mechanics, engineers, marine industries, cleaning companies and more.