The Biggest Textile Waste Polluters in Europe

In recent decades, fashion and other textiles have been increasingly reduced to disposable items. What is considered a trend today will disappear in the depths of a wardrobe tomorrow. With low prices and ever-changing collections, fashion brands and the clothing industry as a whole are tempting shoppers to over-consume mass-produced items made from low quality textiles. The extent of this consumption often becomes apparent only when entire wardrobes are cleared out from old or unused clothing. While clothes that have become out of fashion end up in collections of old clothing to be repurposed at best, many pieces are often disposed of, despite being in perfect condition. Textile waste has therefore become a big problem in recent years.

1

Italy
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 465,925
Per person(kg): 7.7

2

Portugal
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 81,715
Per person(kg): 8

3

Austria
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 62,446
Per person(kg): 7

4

United Kingdom
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 206,456
Per person(kg): 3.1

5

Belgium
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 169,949
Per person(kg): 14.8

6

Czech Republic
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes):108,273
Per person(kg): 10.2

7

Denmark
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 18,134
Per person(kg): 3.1

8

Spain
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 98,881
Per person(kg): 2.1

9

Finland
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes):14,934
Per person(kg): 2.7

10

Germany
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 391,752
Per person(kg): 4.7

11

Netherlands
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes):102,261
Per person(kg): 5.9

12

France
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 210,001
Per person(kg): 3.1

13

Ireland
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 22,944
Per person(kg): 4.7

14

Poland
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes):103,683
Per person(kg): 2.7

15

Hungary
Textile waste/year
Total (tonnes): 23,190
Per person(kg): 2.4

With a diverse collection of innovative textiles that require less washing and can therefore be worn longer, we at LABFRESH want to encourage people to change their behavioral patterns one step at a time. To make the urgent need to reduce textile waste clear, we have analysed the 15 European nations that produce the largest amounts of textile waste each year. In addition to the total amount of fashion waste produced yearly, the level of private expenditure on new clothing, the market share of the industry in each country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and the amount of exported clothing contribute to the calculation of the ranking of the largest textile polluting countries.

When considered together, the analysed countries produce more than two million tons of textile waste annually, which is then recycled or disposed of permanently. In order to make the magnitude of the waste clearly comprehensible, we have calculated a per capita share of the annual textile waste and of the respective disposal methods for each country. While 10% of all textile waste stays on the market as second hand clothing, a further 8% can be added back to the production cycle through recycling, as revealed in a report of the European Commission's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS). However, the remaining quantity is permanently disposed of. Almost a quarter (24,3%) of all textile waste is incinerated in a CO²-intensive process, and more than half (57,1%) of fashion waste ends up in landfills, which are especially harmful to the environment. These figures highlight how that the less textile waste is produced, the better it is for people and the environment.


Italy	465,925	7.7	0.8	0.6	1.9	4.4	£920	3.7%	2.6	100.0
Portugal	81,715	8.0	0.8	0.6	2.0	4.6	£680	4.1%	2.1	96.9
Austria	62,446	7.0	0.7	0.6	1.7	4.0	£1,080	2.9%	4.6	84.9
UK	206,456	3.1	0.3	0.2	0.8	1.7	£980	3.2%	5.9	59.1
Belgium	169,949	14.8	1.5	1.2	3.7	8.4	£810	2.3%	16.7	51.7
Czech Rep.	108,273	10.2	1.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	£300	1.8%	3.4	49.7
Denmark	18,134	3.1	0.3	0.3	0.8	1.8	£840	1.9%	2.6	47.0
Spain	98,881	2.1	0.2	0.2	0.5	1.2	£580	2.7%	1.3	45.7
Finland	14,934	2.7	0.3	0.2	0.7	1.5	£750	2.1%	2.3	44.4
Germany	391,752	4.7	0.5	0.4	1.2	2.7	£780	2.3%	6.0	43.5
Netherlands	102,261	5.9	0.6	0.5	1.5	3.4	£870	2.3%	9.0	41.6
France	210,001	3.1	0.3	0.3	0.8	1.8	£570	1.9%	1.2	39.0
Ireland	22,944	4.7	0.5	0.4	1.2	2.7	£650	1.1%	2.4	34.1
Poland	103,683	2.7	0.3	0.2	0.7	1.6	£340	3.1%	4.8	28.3
Hungary	23,190	2.4	0.2	0.2	0.6	1.4	£210	1.8%	5.0	0.0

What does this mean?

The textile waste cluster describes what happens to fashion waste and how much each country produces.

Yearly textile waste (Tonnes)

The total amount of textile waste produced per country in tonnes was sourced from Eurostat 2016, Generation of waste by waste category by searching for textile waste in the non hazardous waste data.

Yearly textile waste per person (Kg)

The total textile waste per country divided by its respective population, after converting the yearly textile waste from Tonnes to Kilograms. The information on each country’s population was sourced from 2019 Revision of World Population Prospects

Yearly recycled textile waste per person (Kg)

The textile waste that is broken down to obtain fabrics that will be used to manufacture new products, as defined by Eurostat. This number was obtained by multiplying the yearly textile waste per person in Kilograms by the average yearly European percentage of textile waste that is recycled (10%), which was sourced from page 58 of The Environmental Improvement Potential of Textiles Report of the European Commission (January 2014),

Yearly reusable textile waste per person (Kg)

The textile waste to be reused as second-hand clothing with little to no modification, as defined by Eurostat. It differs from recycling, which is the breakdown of textiles to be used to manufacture a new textile item, as the textile waste in this category is intended to be sold as second-hand clothing as is. This number was obtained by multiplying the yearly textile waste per person in Kilograms by the average yearly European percentage of textile waste that is reused (8%), which was found on page 58 of The Environmental Improvement Potential of Textiles Report of the European Commission (January 2014).

Yearly incinerated textile waste per person (Kg)

The amount of textile waste per person that is incinerated in a year.

Incineration is defined by Eurostat as a method for waste disposal that involves the combustion (burning) of waste. It is a controlled process in which the energy given off from combustion can be reused by being converted into electricity.

This number was calculated by multiplying the yearly textile waste per person in Kilograms by the average yearly European percentage of textile waste that is incinerated (24.3%), found on page 58 of The Environmental Improvement Potential of Textiles Report of the European Commission (January 2014).

Yearly landfilled textile waste per person (Kg)

The amount of textile waste per person that ends up in a landfill.

According to Eurostat, a landfill is the disposal of waste into or onto a designated area of land. This is the least desirable way to dispose of waste because it is the most damaging to the environment. However, landfills represent the most common textile waste disposal technique.

This value was calculated by multiplying the yearly textile waste per person in Kilograms by the average European percentage of landfilled textile waste (57.1%). This information was sourced from page 58 of The Environmental Improvement Potential of Textiles Report of the European Commission (January 2014)

Results

Country	Population	Yearly Total Textile waste (Tonnes)	Yearly textile waste per person (Kg)	Yearly recycled textile waste per person (Kg)	Yearly reusable textile waste per person (Kg)	Yearly incinerated textile waste per person (Kg)	Yearly landfilled textile waste per person (Kg)	Cluster Score 0-100
Italy	60,359,546	465,925	7.7	0.8	0.6	1.9	4.4	44.1
Portugal	10,276,617	81,715	8.0	0.8	0.6	2.0	4.6	46.0
Austria	8,858,775	62,446	7.0	0.7	0.6	1.7	4.0	38.9
United Kingdom	66,647,112	206,456	3.1	0.3	0.2	0.8	1.7	7.8
Belgium	11,467,923	169,949	14.8	1.5	1.2	3.7	8.4	100.0
Czech Republic	10,649,800	108,273	10.2	1.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	63.4
Denmark	5,806,081	18,134	3.1	0.3	0.3	0.8	1.8	8.0
Spain	46,934,632	98,881	2.1	0.2	0.2	0.5	1.2	0.0
Finland	5,517,919	14,934	2.7	0.3	0.2	0.7	1.5	4.7
Germany	83,019,213	391,752	4.7	0.5	0.4	1.2	2.7	20.5
Netherlands	17,282,163	102,261	5.9	0.6	0.5	1.5	3.4	30.0
France	67,028,048	210,001	3.1	0.3	0.3	0.8	1.8	8.1
Ireland	4,904,226	22,944	4.7	0.5	0.4	1.2	2.7	20.2
Poland	37,972,812	103,683	2.7	0.3	0.2	0.7	1.6	4.9
Hungary	9,772,756	23,190	2.4	0.2	0.2	0.6	1.4	2.1

What does this mean?

Results

Country	Spending Per person, euro per capita (2018)	Score (0-100)	Percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)	Score (0-100)	Sum score	Cluster Score 0-100
Italy	1,080.0	18.6	3.7	13.3	32.0	100.0
Portugal	800.0	46.1	4.1	0.0	46.1	90.2
Austria	1,270.0	0.0	2.9	40.0	40.0	94.4
United Kingdom	1,150.0	11.8	3.2	30.0	41.8	93.2
Belgium	950.0	31.4	2.3	60.0	91.4	58.9
Czech Republic	350.0	90.2	1.8	76.7	166.9	6.8
Denmark	990.0	27.5	1.9	73.3	100.8	52.4
Spain	680.0	57.8	2.7	46.7	104.5	49.9
Finland	880.0	38.2	2.1	66.7	104.9	49.6
Germany	910.0	35.3	2.3	60.0	95.3	56.2
Netherlands	1,020.0	24.5	2.3	60.0	84.5	63.7
France	670.0	58.8	1.9	73.3	132.2	30.8
Ireland	760.0	50.0	1.1	100.0	150.0	18.4
Poland	400.0	85.3	3.1	33.3	118.6	40.1
Hungary	250.0	100.0	1.8	76.7	176.7	0.0

What does this mean?

This cluster indicates the amount of exported pre-owned clothing per country that will most likely be part of another country’s second hand market.

Yearly export of worn clothing (Tonnes)

The amount of second hand clothing and other worn items exported out of the country in tonnes was obtained from The United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database

This factor is an indicator for the amount of clothing which is disposed of in a sustainable manner in the studied country. The higher the weight of worn clothing exported, the more people are donating their old clothes. Donation is preferable to throwing clothes in the bin, since they would otherwise most likely end up in a landfill, which is the most destructive disposal technique for the environment.

Results

Methodolgy

The study of the European countries polluting the most from a textile waste perspective is a comparative analysis of the handling of fashion waste in 15 countries in the European Union.

In order to establish a ranking, data on textile waste from 2016 was sourced from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat). The selected countries were then examined by the following factors: Total quantity in tonnes (textile waste and by disposal technique), spending on new clothing, share of the clothing industry on the gross domestic product (size of the clothing industry and of the market) and export volume of worn clothing (second hand). The calculation was carried out using an evaluation system that rated each factor of the analysed countries between 0 to 100. While the least sustainable country in each factor received a score of 100, the most sustainable one received a score of 0. The final ranking is a sum of all the factors.

More information on the definition of the factors, the calculation and all sources can be found in detail in the methodology.

	Sum clusters	Final score
Italy	235.0	100.0
Portugal	230.2	96.9
Austria	211.2	84.9
United Kingdom	170.5	59.1
Belgium	158.9	51.7
Czech Republic	155.7	49.7
Denmark	151.5	47.0
Spain	149.4	45.7
Finland	147.3	44.4
Germany	146.0	43.5
Netherlands	143.0	41.6
France	138.8	39.0
Ireland	131.2	34.1
Poland	122.0	28.3
Hungary	77.5	0.0

Country	Yearly export of worn clothing (Kilograms per person)	Score 0-100	Cluster Score 0-100
Italy	2.6	9.2	90.8
Portugal	2.1	6.1	93.9
Austria	4.6	22.1	77.9
United Kingdom	5.9	30.5	69.5
Belgium	16.7	100.0	0.0
Czech Republic	3.4	14.5	85.5
Denmark	2.6	8.9	91.1
Spain	1.3	0.5	99.5
Finland	2.3	7.0	93.0
Germany	6.0	30.8	69.2
Netherlands	9.0	50.6	49.4
France	1.2	0.0	100.0
Ireland	2.4	7.5	92.5
Poland	4.8	23.0	77.0
Hungary	5.0	24.6	75.4

Fashion Waste Index