The Journey of a Discarded T-shirt : From the Global North to the Atacama Dumpsite
Morell-Delgado, Gemma (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Talens Peiró, Laura (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental)
Toboso-Chavero, Susana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Data:	2025
Resum:	Textile waste management is an increasingly urgent issue due to textile mass production and consumption, which leads to significant waste generation. Strategies for managing textile waste prioritise reuse and recycling over incineration and landfilling. However, reuse and recycling practices performed in the same territory where textiles are consumed remain limited. Instead, used textiles from high-income countries are often exported to the Global South and low- and middle-income countries, leading to numerous environmental impacts in these regions. This study examines the value chain of imported used textiles in the Tarapacá and Santiago Metropolitan Regions of Chile. The results help propose a new methodological framework for environmentally assessing used textile trade practices in importing countries. The study employs a rapid-ethnography and qualitative mixed-method approach, including interactive shadowing and observation, conducted across eight locations. The findings reveal that used textiles enter the country first via ports and then are distributed within importer companies and second-hand retailers. There are initiatives for reuse, recycling, and downcycling, but the findings show that not all imported used textiles are effectively utilized. A portion of used textiles ends up as waste in dumpsites, exacerbating environmental impacts. The study recommends a qualitative and quantitative mixed-method approach to address data gaps and develop more exhaustive studies in importing countries. Future research should focus on quality standards to improve sorting, exporting criteria, and traceability of used textiles. This will enhance trade flow accounting and mitigate environmental impacts in importing countries, especially those from unsorted and low-quality used textiles.
Ajuts:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00734 "la Caixa" Foundation 100010434
Nota:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Nota:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M. This work received the support of the Talent UAB Santander program.
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Textile waste management ; Environmental impacts ; Used textile trade ; Waste import-export ; Textile landfill ; Circular economy
Publicat a:	Circular Economy and Sustainability, (July 2025) , ISSN 2730-5988

DOI: 10.1007/s43615-025-00618-z

28 p, 3.1 MB

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Documents de recerca > Documents dels grups de recerca de la UAB > Centres i grups de recerca (producció científica) > Ciències > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Sostenibilitat i Prevenció Ambiental (Sostenipra)
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