What happens to all the clothes we put in the recycling bins?

Question

Who collects them? Is it the council? and where do they go?

Answer 1

further to snookler et al, they end up in third world countries, or op shops in not so poor countries.

In third world countries they are a mixed blessing.  The clothes get sold at prices well below new clothes as you would expect. So a larger proportion of the population can buy presentable clothes.

In this country for instance, people, now that second hand shops have become the norm, wear "better" clothes than they used to. However the sight of people wearing totally inappropriate clothes is a bit weird, an evening dress as street wear, a printed T shirt worn by some poor unsuspecting illiterate with obscene or offensive messages on it, pj's worn as street apparal etc.

Then there is the economic impact, over the last 30 years most urban vegetable markets anda good 30% of retail outlets have been converted to second hand clothes outlets, indead it is a boom industry. There used to be a vibrant indiginous clothes industry, that has virtually been wiped out. Who will buy an average quality new shirt, when you can get a near new designer label for a fraction of the price? The social impact is also not all positive. nor are the overall ethics, even though generally the intentions are good.

As to who collects, many NGO's make it their business, some councils do, but that is more of an exception. Also several regular businesses are involved.

And some clothes end up as industrial rags and others ar fibres to be made into felt, matress stuffing packaging materials and a significant portion eds up as fibres added to paper pult to make a fine hight strength paper.

Answer 2

I think my wife buys them for me to wear.

Answer 3

In addition to snookler, they arrive in African countries is huge plastic wrapped bales.  Market trades bid for them while still sealed (otherwise it's chaotic).  Sometimes they sell well but in other places people believe they belonged to dead people and refuse to use them.

Answer 4

They go to big sorting centres before being processed for shipment abroad to poor African countries where they are sold in markets.

The real dross gets shredded.