As unwanted clothing piles up in landfills across Africa, one of the sources of that waste has proposed a solution to stop garment pollution on the continent. Last week, France’s environment ministry proposed a European Union ban on exports of used clothing, much of which gets funneled to African countries. The call for a used clothing export ban also is supported by Sweden and Denmark.
According to United Nations trade data, the EU exported 1.4 million metric tons of used textiles in 2022, more than double the amount it sent in 2000. The European Commission estimates Europe produces 5.2 million tons of clothing and footwear waste each year.
Much of that discarded clothing and footwear comes from “fast fashion,” which France’s environmental industry says cultivates overconsumption and a throwaway attitude toward clothing.
While some fast fashion companies, such as H&M and Zara, have incorporated sustainability practices in recent years, the rise of online brands such as Shein, Fashion Nova and Temu have marked an uptick in inexpensive, lower-quality garments, footwear and accessories entering the marketplace. According to market research firm Gitnux, the global fast fashion market grew by a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent from $91.23 billion in 2021 to $99.23 billion in 2022.
Typically, fast fashion pieces tend to be trendy and inexpensive, reducing their shelf life in a consumer’s wardrobe. Gitnux found that in the past 15 years, the number of times a garment is worn before being discarded has declined by around 36 percent to just 7-10 wears.
While some of those pieces end up recycled or resold, much of the discarded clothing ends up in landfills. In the United States, more than 9 million of the nearly 13 million tons of clothing and footwear produced in 2018 went into landfills.
Last month, French Parliament member Antoine Vermorel-Marques of the Les Républicains (LR) party proposed a bill calling for a penalty of 5 Euros ($5.42) per product for companies that put more than 1,000 new models on the market each day. The bill aims to slow the constant churn of product coming from brands such as Shein, which adds thousands of items to its assortment daily.
While a portion of European clothing exports get sold or donated in Africa, France’s environment ministry said much of those discarded garments end up clogging landfills.
“Africa must no longer be the dustbin of fast-fashion,” France’s environment ministry said in a statement to Reuters. “We must reduce waste, and manage our own waste.”