Take-back trickery

The investigation tracked 21 items of clothing submitted to ten fashion brands across the UK, France, Belgium, and Germany using airtag trackers. The findings reveal a significant gap between brand promises of reuse and recycling and the actual outcomes: 60% of items were either destroyed, downcycled, or remained stuck in warehouses, while others were shipped to African markets where they often become waste. Only five items were successfully resold within Europe. The report argues that these schemes often encourage further consumption through discount vouchers and lack transparency and traceability, effectively shifting the waste burden to the Global South.

• A tracking study of 21 items submitted to ten fashion brands (H&M, Zara, C&A, Primark, Nike, Boohoo, New Look, The North Face, Uniqlo, and M&S) found that 60% of the clothing lingered in warehouses, were downcycled, or were destroyed.
• Seven items in good condition were destroyed, dumped, or downcycled. This included a pair of trousers in perfect condition dropped off at M&S in the UK that was downcycled at a Veolia plant within one week, and a pair of joggers from C&A in Berlin that were shredded and burned as fuel at a cement plant.
• Only five items were resold within Europe, with only one of those resold in the same country where it was deposited (a Zara shirt in the UK). Other items were resold in Slovakia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
• The report identifies SOEX as a key player in the system; six items passed through its facilities in Germany and the UAE, with three shipped to Africa and the rest downcycled despite being in resellable condition.

APA

Trunk, U., Harding-Rolls, G., & Urbancic, N. (2023). Take-back trickery. Changing Markets Foundation. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Take-back-trickery.pdf

Chicago

Trunk, Urska, George Harding-Rolls, and Nusa Urbancic. Take-back trickery. Changing Markets Foundation, 2023. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Take-back-trickery.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trunk |first1=Urska |last2=Harding-Rolls |first2=George |last3=Urbancic |first3=Nusa |title=Take-back trickery |publisher=Changing Markets Foundation |date=July 2023 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Take-back-trickery.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trunk2023takeback, author = {Trunk, Urska and Harding-Rolls, George and Urbancic, Nusa}, title = {{Take-back trickery}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Take-back-trickery.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }