OPINION: For well over a year now, those of us on the frontline of the second-hand clothing (SHC) sector have been warning that this vital trade is on its knees. The signs were painfully clear: saturated markets, unsellable low-grade textiles flooding the system, skyrocketing shipping costs and faltering export routes due to global instability. Despite repeated pleas, evidence-backed reports and ongoing dialogue, our warnings were largely ignored. The release of the latest WRAP report reiterates what we have been saying once again: that any action is, quite frankly, too little, too late.
This is not new. We’ve been ringing the alarm bells for over 12 months, highlighting the extreme pressure placed on collectors, traders, sorters, and exporters across the UK and beyond. Warehouses are overflowing. Shipping costs to Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia have become unsustainable. Traders – many of whom are multi-generational family businesses – are being forced to shut up shop. And still, we are met with lots of talk but little action.
WRAP’s latest analysis on the UK’s post-consumer textile pipeline confirms what we’ve long been saying: the current system is failing. In 2022 alone, the UK produced an estimated 1.45 million tonnes of used textiles, yet nearly half of that ended up in general waste. This is despite decades of collection infrastructure, public awareness campaigns and voluntary commitments from brands.
The report puts a price tag on inaction: £88 million a year just to manage unwanted clothing. Without intervention, that figure is forecast to spiral. WRAP warns that local authorities could face an additional £64 million annually, with total costs potentially rising to £200 million by 2035. Who pays? Charities, councils, collectors – and ultimately, the public.
But what’s most frustrating is that the SHC industry flagged all of this over a year ago. We were clear: the sector was becoming financially unsustainable and the pressure on domestic and export routes was nearing collapse.
The lack of an effective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme has enabled a system where overproduction goes unchecked. Without clear accountability measures in place, the market remains saturated with low-cost, fossil-fuel-based textiles, with the burden of waste management falling elsewhere. Let’s be absolutely clear: a generic EPR scheme will not suffice. We need an eco-modulated model that penalises the production of cheap, non-recyclable synthetics and rewards garments that are durable, repairable and designed for circularity. Without this differentiation, EPR risks punishing the very collectors and sorters who have kept the reuse system afloat for decades.
A well-designed, ring-fenced EPR scheme must:
- Fund UK-based automated sorting and fibre-to-fibre recycling infrastructure but also support manual sorting and grading, which remains essential for the reuse market.
- Protect the global trade in second-hand clothing as a legitimate, sustainable solution, not a dumping ground for fast fashion’s cast-offs.
Reuse remains 70% better for the environment than producing new garments or incinerating unwanted ones. The second-hand sector diverts hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothing from landfill every year while providing affordable clothing to millions and supporting livelihoods across the Global South.
This isn’t just an environmental issue. It’s a social and economic imperative. In Ghana alone, the SHC trade supports over 2.5 million people. Women dominate these markets as traders, tailors, graders and entrepreneurs. When UK policy fails to protect the reuse trade, it isn’t just affecting collectors here: it’s affecting entire communities abroad who rely on this trade for stability, income and survival.
What we need now is political will. We need regulators and policymakers to finally listen to the people who have kept this industry going.
We need a fair, eco-modulated EPR scheme that will deliver financial support to SHC businesses which are already under immense pressure.
We need policies that reflect the true value of reuse.
If we’re serious about building a circular economy, the SHC sector must be at the centre – not on the margins. We’ve done our part. We’ve flagged the issues. We’ve proposed the solutions. Now it’s time for those in power to act.
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