The truth about textile waste

Marianne Dickinson, Zero Waste Team
Published in the July/August/December 2025 Rio Grande Sierran

The fashion industry is now under intense scrutiny for massive waste generation, especially in its end-of-life disposal and its responsibility for up to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Fast Fashion trend is driving huge production of cheap goods with a very short life cycle with the help of online “influencers.” US consumers throw away an average of 81.5 pounds of clothing a year, most of it headed to landfills.

A photo of the vast mountain of discarded clothing in Chile’s Atacama Desert was published in 2021, identifying it as the second-largest clothing dump in the world. (The largest is in Ghana.) The following year, an estimated 11 tons of the Atacama pile was set on fire, spewing toxic fumes into the atmosphere and the lungs of the local inhabitants. 

The name-brand clothes and footwear come from the US, Europe, Korea and Japan and sometimes have sales tags still on them, some are barely used and others are repairable. Some of it is resold by salvagers, creating an informal economy that governments see as beneficial.

A lot of clothing waste is from donations to nonprofits that go through commercial sorters and onto East Africa. The poorest quality (about 40%) goes straight to dump sites and is burned or washed down rivers to open seas.

Reduce/Repair/Re-use/Recycle

In the hierarchy of zero waste in a circular economy, the most important step is to produce less, produce better and use longer.

Research has shown that repairing garments prevents new purchases more effectively than resale. A few high-quality brands are now taking back garments and repairing or re-styling them while using eco-friendly ways to effectively clean garments and shoes. Savvy consumers have always looked to vintage clothing sellers and thrift shops for quality garments. Online businesses are now booming, reselling designer and vintage clothing.

About 70% of clothing is made of polyesters, and as with all plastics, they don’t biodegrade for centuries and shed microplastics. Recycling them has drawbacks. Because consumers are being persuaded that recycling is a solution, recycled polyesters are being used in new clothing (despite the fact that plastic bottles instead of textiles may be used) and may contain toxic chemicals from sources like BPA, PFAS, formaldehyde, etc. Natural fibers, if not blended with synthetics and elastic fibers, can be recycled into new fiber, composted or reprocessed into textiles such as felt.

So what can we do: buy natural fiber clothes, but not a lot of them. Repair your clothes at one of our fantastic local alterations shops. And swap with friends or thrift when you want something new!

For more information, article links and things you can do, see the links below.

Featured image from Vecteezy – Industry Stock photos by Vecteezy

Textile Waste Links

Facts and articles on the problem

What some companies are doing about it

What we can do about it

Here is a list of some of the changes you can make to address textile waste:

  1. Shop at local thrift shops, vintage, second hand stores and consignment shops
  2. Use online second hand businesses like ThredUp or Poshmark
  3. Buy natural fabric clothes if possible; they don’t shed microplastics and can be composted when worn out
  4. Donate clean used fabric to school art departments, community art centers or maker spaces
  5. Donate to local animal shelters—call to see if they can use old towels, blankets or pillows
  6. Learn how to mend/repair clothes; check out YOUTube for tutorials
  7. Can’t do it yourself?  Support local tailor, alteration and repair businesses
  8. Line-dry your clothes instead of using a dryer, which sheds a lot of microplastics from synthetic fabrics

Shopping advice – buy less, choose responsible companies, make it last

New Mexico Resources – donations & recycling

New Mexico Resources – DIY, Fix-it, Repair

Do you have resources to add to this list? Contact Laurie Zunner

The truth about textile waste