Europeans are buying - and discarding - more clothing, footwear and other textiles than ever before, according to a European Environment Agency briefing (EEA). 

The scale of of the current production and consumption puts increasing pressure on the environment and climate, through water and land use, greenhouse gas emissions, chemicals and microplastics.

The briefing, Circularity of the EU textiles value chain in numbers, released ahead of International Day of Zero Waste, on 30 March reports that during 2022 the average EU citizen bought 19kg of clothing, footwear and household textiles - up from 17kg in 2019.  

The EEA notes that out of the 12 categories of European household consumption - including food, mobility, housing, health and education - textile consumption is ranked the fifth largest in terms of environmental and climate pressures.

Chemicals also pose a problem and the briefing highlights that substances used in textiles can have negative impacts on environmental and human health and warns that restricted chemicals found in certain textile products in the EU exceed safety thresholds set by the REACH regulation. The use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so called "forever chemicals" are highlighted due to  concerns related to their persistence and negative impacts on the environment and human health.

Microplastics are also an issue, released from synthetic fibres they are estimated to be the fourth largest source of unintentional microplastic release into Europe’s environment.

The EEA notes that the collection of textile waste in Europe has been increasing slowly, rising by 4.3% since 2016. Despite this, during 2022, 85% of all textile waste from households was not collected separately and instead ended up landfills or incineration. The implementation of EU legislation on separate textile waste collection, which will start this year, is expected to increase the amount of textiles recycled from household waste. 

Exports of textile waste have also increased rising from around 550,000 tonnes per year in 2000 to 1.4 million tonnes per year in 2019. Since this time the volumes have remained fairly consistent at 1.4 million tonnes per year exported in 2023. While the exports are intended for recycling, the EEA says that studies indicate that EU textiles enter a complex pattern of trade, sorting, reuse, recycling and landfill, with some being incinerated or dumped mainly across African and Asian countries. 

International Day of Zero Waste, which is facilitated jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and has the theme: Towards zero waste in fashion and textiles, is highlighting the need to take action to reduce the waste impact from the fashion and textile sector and promote sustainability and circularity.

UNEP estimates that some 92 million tonnes of textile waste is generated worldwide each year - the equivalent to a truckload of clothing being incinerated or sent to landfills every second. 

Further reading:
• A Singapore business collaborates with academics to tackle textile waste
• Sustainability and use of chemicals in textiles in the spotlight
• US researchers develop polymer that removes dye from wastewater