The Ministry of Environment is drafting measures to encourage clothing brands to use singular and recyclable materials, as well as establishing a “clothing-to-clothing” chemical recycling model as textile waste fast fashion exacerbates the problem of textile waste.
Domestic used clothing stations across the nation saw volumes increase from about 37,000 tonnes in 2013 to 82,000 in 2022, ministry data showed.
About 36 percent of the used clothes went straight to incinerators, 22 percent were downcycled and 42 percent went to second-hand donation facilities, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment
Taiwan can recycle used clothing fibers and use those fibers to make new clothing, but the process is more complicated if the clothes used multiple materials, Lee Yi-hua (李宜樺), head of the ministry’s Sustainable Consumption and Recycling Division, said on Saturday.
The ministry is trying to encourage clothing brand manufacturers to begin using single types of materials, preferably recycled materials, when making clothing items, Lee added.
The ministry is also urging clothing distributors to offer recycling, remaking or “shared clothing” services, and is mulling a general ban on distributors destroying any excess clothing in storage, he said.
It also hopes that distributors would be willing to sell second-hand clothing, he added.
The ministry is considering standards, to be available as early as next month, that would offer official suggestions for “green” clothing options for sectors that need to place large orders for uniforms, such as banks or transportation companies.
However, Shu-Te University Department of Fashion Design professor Chu Wei-cheng (朱維政) said that making clothing entirely from one material was more difficult.
Blending polyester fibers and cottons makes for more comfortable and fashionable wear, Chu said, adding that clothes often need to include metallic objects in the form of buttons or zippers.
The clothing recycling industry would only benefit when polyester fibers become as skin-friendly as 100 percent cotton materials, absolving the need to mix fabrics, he said.
Asked for comment, clothing manufacturers said there are multiple processes involved when a piece of clothing is recycled, meaning that recycled materials are about 30 percent more expensive than original materials.
Consumers might not be as willing to buy clothes when that cost is reflected in the selling price, a manufacturer said, adding that sourcing enough used clothes for a “clothing to clothing” recycling system might be a problem.
Despite the difficulties, clothing manufacturers beginning to incorporate recycled materials is an international trend, and the clothing industry would have to come up with solutions to address the issue, the manufacturer said.
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