The used clothing industry in Germany is facing new challenges: in 2022, the collection volumes of used textiles fell and export volumes also fell.
The used textile industry is still struggling with the consequences of the pandemic and the Ukraine war is also having an impact on the market. In addition, there are new political and EU directives that will change the dynamics of the used textile market in Germany and throughout Europe, according to the Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Management (BVSE) in a statement.
decrease in collection volumes
In the past year, the collection volumes of used textiles have decreased. The BVSE assumes an estimated 1.5 million tons of used textiles per year, according to Stefan Voigt, the chairman of the association, when asked by FashionUnited.
The Federal Statistical Office has also recorded a decline in the amount collected: in 2021, around 176,200 tonnes of textile and clothing waste was collected from private households in Germany via public waste disposal agencies such as used clothing containers or recycling yards, which means a decrease of 5.8 percent compared to the previous year. In the long term, however, an increase in the collection volumes can be observed. Within ten years, 70 percent more textile and clothing waste was collected in German private households.
Another development can be seen in the quality and recycling rate of the donated textiles. The proportion of high-quality clothing in the collections falls, and the material composition makes the individual items in the collections lighter on average.
Voigt explains that this effect comes from fast fashion: “With the increase in the quantities of textiles sold in Germany, one would also assume a linear increase in the quantities of clothing. However, since the development of the individual weights of a piece of clothing also leads to a lighter weight of an individual piece of clothing due to the ever greater use of synthetic fibers, there are also disproportionately more pieces of clothing when the quantities develop.”
But the old clothing companies are by no means happy about the increasing number of items of clothing. “Now one should assume a better recycling rate here, but this is not the case, since the steadily declining product quality is accompanied by an overall sharp drop in quality and thus also a slightly falling recycling rate,” Voigt continues.
New EU requirements from 2025
Like many other industries, used clothing sorting plants are also affected by the effects of the Ukraine war and inflation. Despite the good sales revenue, economic sorting is becoming increasingly difficult due to the sharply increased costs of purchasing goods and sorting costs: “The massive rise in wages, together with large increases in energy and fuel costs, create a situation that makes economic sorting in Germany difficult more and more difficult,” emphasizes Voigt, chairman of the association.
From January 2025, the so-called separate collection obligation will apply to textile waste, which provides for a mandatory separate collection of textile waste as a result of the amended Circular Economy Act based on EU requirements. As a result, “as expected, there will be a further drop in the quality of the raw materials as volumes increase,” says Voigt.
Change in export markets
Exports of used textiles also fell. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the export volume of used textiles fell by 11 percent compared to 2021. Around 462,500 tons of old clothes and used textiles were exported in 2022, in 2021 it was 518,100 tons. Around a third of exports from Germany in 2022 went to Poland (17 percent) and the Netherlands (15 percent).
If you convert the German export quantity to the number of the population, this would correspond to an export quantity of used textiles of 5.5 kilograms per capita last year.
According to the UN Comtrade database, Germany was the second most important exporter of used textiles in the world in 2021, followed by China. The US was first with around 725,000 tons. The largest importers in the same year were Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. Germany imported around 63,000 tons of old clothes in 2022.
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