Why the recycling bin is not the answer for old clothes, at least not yet.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 15 November 2026
How much clothing is recycled?
Very little. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that less than 1 percent of the material used to make clothing is recycled into new clothing, and Textile Exchange reports that recycled textiles still make up less than 1 percent of global fibre. Most “recycled” fashion uses plastic bottles, not old clothes.
What happens to the clothes I donate?
A small share is sold in local charity shops. Much of the rest is baled and exported to second-hand markets in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. At markets such as Kantamanto in Accra, Ghana, traders say a large proportion of each bale is unsellable and ends up dumped or burned. Donating is still better than binning, but it is not a guilt-free exit.
Why is recycling clothes so hard?
Most garments are blends, such as cotton with elastane, plus zips, buttons, prints and dyes, and separating them is slow and costly. Mechanical recycling shreds fabric into shorter, weaker fibres, so most of it is downcycled into insulation, stuffing or cleaning rags. Chemical fibre-to-fibre recycling exists but is expensive: the Swedish pioneer Renewcell went bankrupt in 2024 before being relaunched under new owners as Circulose.
Is anything changing?
Slowly. EU countries have had to collect textiles separately since 2025, and every member state must set up extended producer responsibility schemes, making brands pay for the waste their clothes create, by 2028. Until recycling catches up, the best answers are to buy less, choose single-fibre items, and repair, resell and swap.
Read on Ayerhs: How to Repair and Recycle Old Clothes · Sustainable Fashion Brands Don’t Exist