Every year, approximately 92 million tons of textiles are discarded globally. Turkey, as one of Europe's largest textile and garment producers, generates over 1 million tons of textile waste annually. When these old clothes are no longer landfilled or incinerated but are systematically collected, sorted, and redistributed, a new industry spanning charity, environmental protection, and trade is taking shape.
Background: How the Zero Waste Project Targets Textiles
The Turkish government's "Zero Waste" project, launched in 2017, initially focused on household waste classification and reduction. Now, the project has officially entered the textile sector, with the core action being the deployment of clothing collection boxes at all outlets of the state-owned postal operator PTT. This means Turkish citizens can drop off unused clothing while mailing letters or picking up parcels.
According to public statements by Samet Agirbas, Chairman of the Zero Waste Foundation, the collection process involves three steps. First, textiles deposited at PTT outlets are registered and then transported to a processing center. Second, staff classify items by type, fabric, condition, and reusable value, followed by disinfection. Finally, wearable clothing is distributed through social assistance channels, while unwearable textiles enter the recycling stream. As part of the closed loop, partner companies donate new clothes to the foundation for distribution to those in need, creating a public-benefit circular economy model of "collection-donation-reproduction."
This model's key advantage lies in bundling government administrative resources (postal network), non-profit organizations (foundation), and corporate social responsibility (new clothing donations), lowering the high logistics costs of running a separate collection network. As a state-owned enterprise, PTT covers all cities and most towns across Turkey, providing a natural capillary network for collection boxes.
Industry Impact: Implications for Global Second-hand Garment and Recycled Fiber Trade
The direct consequence of Turkey's move is that hundreds of thousands of tons of old clothes will be diverted from landfills into formal recycling channels each year. For Chinese textile companies, this presents both challenges and opportunities.
The challenge is that Turkey has long been a major transit hub for second-hand clothing in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. According to UN Comtrade data, Turkey imports approximately 150,000 tons of used clothing annually, mainly from Germany and the UK. After sorting, higher-quality items are re-exported to the Middle East and Africa, while lower-quality items are used for recycled fiber production. Now, with the domestic recycling system improving, Turkey's supply of second-hand garments will increase significantly, potentially squeezing the market share of Chinese recycled fibers (such as recycled polyester staple fiber and recycled cotton yarn) in the region.
The opportunity lies in Chinese textile companies being able to import pre-sorted used textiles from Turkey as raw materials. Officially collected old clothes, after disinfection and classification, offer better quality assurance and comply with EU waste shipment regulations. For recycled fiber factories in southeastern China, this is more efficient and carries lower compliance risk than sourcing directly from Europe.
Furthermore, Turkey's "Zero Waste" initiative aligns with the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which requires that by 2030, all textiles placed on the EU market must be recyclable, durable, and contain a certain percentage of recycled fibers. As a major supplier of textiles to the EU, Turkey's domestic recycling system will help its textile companies more easily gain green market access. For Chinese textile companies aiming to remain competitive in the EU, building similar recycling traceability systems is becoming imperative to avoid "green barriers."