Challenges and crisis of used clothes recycling

      Challenges and crisis of used clothes recycling . Many cities are increasing the number of used clothes recycling bins, which are popping up in every urban corner. It will be a potential industry, both from a business and charity perspective. And is also a significant step forward for the society that used clothes can be reused, from being burned to being put into recycling bins.

What value has been realized by the flow of used clothes?

Cyclic utilization of used clothes increases social wealth.
There is a broader range of donations from poor areas and more sources of raw materials for industrial manufacturers.
Charitable organizations can get fundraising, and commercial companies will have ample goods, providing employment opportunities for the masses. Now, using recycling bins is a trend that will appear more and more in the future.
Lessons from the European used clothes recycling model

      Europe is relatively perfect in the management of second-hand clothes recycling bins. They have rich experience in this area and have a more mature management model. Many cities have set up second-hand clothes recycling bins to collect second-hand apparel. These bins are based on the separation of waste and are owned by social organizations and municipalities. In the post-processing process, some of the second-hand clothing is disposed of by the social organizations, and professional companies dispose of some.

HUMANA

      For example, Humana has placed about 800 recycling bins in Vienna, Austria, and disposed of the collected clothes on their hands; another social organization, Kolping, also set up used recycling bins but leaves the post-processing work to professional companies. In Graz, the municipality is responsible for setting up the recycling bins.

Europe

       In Europe, some second-hand apparel goes to local charity stores to meet the shopping needs of the local population, such as Humana in Vienna, which has more than a dozen local second-hand stores and can digest a large amount of second-hand clothes, exporting the remaining clothes to Africa or used as industrial materials. The last rest is used as waste incineration fuel for heat and power plants. In this way, the secondary use of used clothes is maximized.

The global and flow concerns of used clothes recycling

      In terms of the profitability of commercial second hand clothes company, many used clothing company only set up second-hand apparel recycling bins in some economically developed cities but not in rural areas. Specifically, in smaller towns, communities are dividing into upscale and poor due to the different distribution of towns and communities.

      Most commercial companies prefer putting recycling bins in exclusive neighborhoods to doing the same thing in the poor. Therefore, the government should take second-hand apparel recycling as infrastructure and fully consider the overall geographical distribution of the recycling bins.

The regional layout of recycling bins

        While those bins set up by public welfare organizations can be distributed in a geographically balanced way. Even if some places are not economically developed, second-hand apparel bins are still needed to separate clothes. However, the profit-seeking commercial companies have led to recycling bins being set up only in cities. To balance the regional layout of recycling bins, public welfare organizations have to make both ends meet.            This requires that non-profit organizations should lead the setting of recycling bins. Whether or not they cooperate with professional companies, organizations should monitor and be responsible for the whole process of used clothes collection and disposal.

Disposal of poor quality clothes

        During the processing of used clothes, some materials will become the source of bad-quality cotton. Therefore, charity organizations need to be able to monitor the post-processing of used clothes. At the same time, the government also needs to supervise the industry. The rest of the material that can not use as industrial raw materials will be burned or buried deep underground. 

     It would be of great benefit to the environment if this left material could be disposed of as waste-to-energy power. In addition, the government also needs to subsidize the disposal of used clothes.

Summary

      The purpose of used clothes recycling is to realize the value of secondary use and meet different people’s needs. The recycling of used clothes will do more good than harm, not only to arouse people’s love and encourage them to participate in it but also to meet the commercial needs of used clothes, including demands of industrial raw materials. Learning from the foreign experience, mainly led by charitable and non-profit social organizations, also contributes to social organizations’ self-interest and monitors industrial development directions.

       Moreover, non-profit organizations need to set up charity stores in cities to meet local needs. The role of the government in the whole process is to promote the legislation of used clothes recycling and regulate the entire process of specific circulation, preventing used clothes from flowing to manufacturers of inferior goods.

Ultimate goal

      In further promoting waste separation, as the government cannot shirk its responsibility for the urban environment. It needs to speed up the construction of waste-to-energy and power plants, give certain subsidies for the disposal of used clothes. And achieve the ultimate goal of making full use of used clothes.

Conclusion-Challenges and crisis of used clothes recycling

      Second-hand clothes are risky, but as far as a qualified second-hand clothes supplier is concerned, the second-hand clothes trade is the best option. Because used clothes can dividing by various categories, you can sell them in a number of categories for maximum profit.