The used-clothing recycling industry has a low entry barrier and many participants, but it suffers from chaotic pricing and training practices, and practitioners are calling for national standards. In 2020, China generated over 20 million tonnes of waste textiles but recycled only 4.6 million tonnes, a regeneration rate of about 20%.

Key Points

  • According to Ministry of Commerce statistics, China generated over 20 million tonnes of waste textiles in 2020, recycled only 4.6 million tonnes, with a regeneration rate of about 20%.
  • In March 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and two other departments issued guidelines aiming for a 25% recycling rate for waste textiles and 2 million tonnes of recycled fiber output by 2025.
  • A used-clothing recycling plant in Wangcheng District, Changsha receives 4-5 groups of inquirers daily; clothes from its 30 community collection bins are sorted and shipped to its Guangzhou headquarters for export.

At an 800-square-meter used-clothing recycling plant in Wangcheng District, Changsha, employees begin sorting work at 8 a.m. every day. Plant manager Chen Ming (pseudonym) said the factory has six workers. After receiving clothes, they first check whether collars, cuffs and other edges are yellowed or damaged, then examine the type and quality. Qualified items go into iron baskets, while rejected ones are sent to incineration as waste or transferred to a scrap yard. One thing he often says is: "No dirty ones, no torn ones, no overly old ones."

According to him, recycled old clothes usually have three destinations: charitable donation, resale for export, and resource reuse. The industry is actually divided into three tiers: the first tier handles collection, gathering loose and bulk goods; the second tier handles sorting and qualification checks; the third tier connects with overseas markets and further subdivides. Chen Ming's factory is at the second tier, and its sorted goods are shipped to the Guangzhou headquarters, which sells them to other regions. Community collection bins are one important source. He currently has 30 bins placed in residential communities and must pay management fees to property management. Clothes placed in the bins are donated for free. Larger communities get about ten bins, while smaller ones get three.

Online platforms take another path. Li Yang (pseudonym) of the old-clothing recycling platform Wutan Xingqiu said that after users place orders through a mini-program, couriers pick up the items and send them to a warehouse, and the platform later pays cash back at 0.5 yuan per jin. "Better service and pricing" are why its clothing recycling has a market, and the share of China's exported old clothes is still rising.

But the industry is not paved with gold. Part-time practitioner Wang Xing (pseudonym) observed that short-video claims of "millions in annual income" attract many newcomers to enter blindly: a tricycle plus three to four thousand yuan in purchasing costs is enough to get started. Some newcomers do not understand the market and buy at a flat rate of one yuan per jin regardless of season, only to lose money and exit while disrupting prices. Others think his offer of 0.3 yuan per jin is too low and are unwilling to sell to him. Some platforms also recruit trainees for used-clothing recycling training, which in his view is like "harvesting leeks." Chen Ming also mentioned that almost every day several groups of people come to the factory to ask about market conditions.

There has already been policy action. In March 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles, specifying that by 2025 the recycling rate of waste textiles should reach 25% and recycled fiber output should reach 2 million tonnes; by 2030, the recycling rate should reach 30% and recycled fiber output should reach 3 million tonnes. This is a "shot in the arm" for practitioners.

Interviewees expressed a common expectation: they hope the state will formulate relevant standards as soon as possible, regulate the recycling and utilization of old clothes, provide fiscal and tax incentives to encourage enterprise and platform innovation, promote research on regeneration and utilization, and strengthen internal and external supervision to eliminate industry chaos. Wang Xing said that more and more people realize the importance of environmental protection and are more willing to do recycling, which gives him a sense of purpose in persevering. He may resign from his main job and devote himself full-time to this industry.

Source: Rednet In-Depth | Used Clothing Recycling: "Cold" Reflections in a "Hot" Recycling Industry_Economy and Livelihood_Hunan Channel · Originally published on 2023-04-04