Trashion : The stealth export of waste plastic clothes to Kenya

The report exposes how the used-clothing trade from the EU and UK to Kenya is used to export plastic waste, with an estimated 307 million synthetic items becoming waste annually in Kenya. It highlights the failure of sorting processes, the role of recycling companies in exporting unsellable clothing, and the resulting pollution of Kenyan landfills and waterways.

• A significant volume of used clothing exported to Kenya is actually plastic waste. In 2021, an estimated 900 million items of used clothing were exported to Kenya, of which up to 458 million were waste and up to 307 million likely contained plastic-based fibres.
• The sorting process for used clothing is failing, with exporters often keeping high-quality items for European resale and shipping unsuitable or damaged clothing abroad. Traders in Kenya report that 20–50% of the clothing in bales is unsellable due to damage, incorrect sizing, or being unfit for the local climate.
• Low-grade waste clothing, known as 'fagia', is frequently dumped in the Nairobi River or burned as fuel for activities like roasting peanuts, leading to the inhalation of toxic smoke from synthetic fibres.
• Several global fashion brands were identified among the waste clothing dumped or burned in Kenya, including H&M, M&S, Next, Old Navy, Ralph Lauren, Superdry, and Guess.
• Recycling companies that are members of sustainability initiatives, such as WRAP’s Textiles 2030 and Fashion for Good’s 2021 Sorting for Circularity Campaign, are involved in exporting waste clothing. Specifically, Baltic Textile Trading (owners of Think Twice) sold unsellable clothing to fagia traders for use as industrial rags and fuel.
• The export of synthetic clothing contributes to global plastic pollution through microplastic leaching and contamination of soil and water as clothing accumulates in Kenyan landfills and the Nairobi River.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2023). Trashion : The stealth export of waste plastic clothes to Kenya. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ex-Summary-Trashion-_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Trashion : The stealth export of waste plastic clothes to Kenya. 2023. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ex-Summary-Trashion-_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=Trashion : The stealth export of waste plastic clothes to Kenya |date=February 2023 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ex-Summary-Trashion-_FINAL.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2023trashion, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{Trashion : The stealth export of waste plastic clothes to Kenya}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ex-Summary-Trashion-_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }