A significant portion of donated clothing fails to obtain ‘a second life’, according to the environmental organisation Greenpeace. To demonstrate this, they embedded geolocation devices in 29 clothing found in municipal containers as well as Zara and Mango retailers. The majority of these items have travelled thousands of kilometres, and their fate remains unknown.
After four months of monitoring donated apparel, only one item’s reuse has been confirmed, purchased from a second-hand retailer in Romania. Greenpeace’s action coincides with Black Friday, a time when brands drive mass purchasing through deep discounts, emphasising the issue of clothes and footwear overproduction.
Regarding the remaining objects, some continue to journey and have yet to arrive at their final destinations, despite travelling long distances to Chile, Pakistan, India, or Togo. Others are still being held in warehouses on Spanish industrial estates, or are just untraceable.
In July and August, geolocation sensors were installed on reusable clothing and footwear. These supplies were eventually placed in containers located in 11 Spanish provinces, both in public spaces and within Zara and Mango stores, retail brands that collaborate with organisations such as Caritas.
According to Greenpeace’s investigations, a crucial discovery revealed that both Zara and Mango are managed by the same entities. They discovered clothing from both systems in the United Arab Emirates, which, like Pakistan, has international textile reception centres in free zones, allowing for re-exportation.
According to the environmental organisation, other clothing were traceable to Africa, notably Egypt, Togo, and Morocco. According to the European Environment Agency, 46% of worn textiles exported from the EU end up in African countries, with 60% resold and 40% dumped, frequently straight into the environment.
Following the publishing of the article, Mango and Inditex emphasised that, in partnership with non-profit organisations, they provide bins in their stores for users to dump garments. Based on their condition, these organisations sort the dumped objects for reuse, recycling, or electricity co-generation.
