The Apparel Recovery Coalition (ARC), jointly initiated by Adidas, H&M Group, Inditex (Zara's parent company), and Danish fashion group Bestseller, was officially launched on the 29th of last month. The coalition, in partnership with Ghanaian non-profit Or Foundation and circular economy consultancy Circle Economy, plans to implement a two-year project in the Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana, focusing on used clothing waste collection and transportation, reinforcement of recycling infrastructure, and worker training. According to Or Foundation data, approximately 25 million used garments flow into the Kantamanto market each month, making it the largest second-hand clothing hub in West Africa.

Key Points

  • ARC was established on the 29th of last month by four fashion companies—Adidas, H&M Group, Inditex, and Bestseller—and is launching its first pilot project in Ghana.
  • About 25 million used garments enter the Kantamanto market monthly; the project will run for two years, with pilot activities including clean-up and purification, recycling infrastructure, and worker training.
  • The revised Waste Framework Directive, effective in October 2025 in the EU, requires member states to introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes for textile and footwear products, with fees differentiated by product durability and recyclability.

Why Kantamanto

Kantamanto was chosen as ARC's first testing ground because it is considered one of the world's largest hubs for used clothing inflows and textile recycling. Used clothes exported to Ghana pass through thousands of vendors and repair artisans who resell and mend them, creating a vast informal circular ecosystem. However, garments that cannot be resold or repaired accumulate in large quantities, polluting local soil and rivers. The industry has long referred to this model as "waste colonialism"—the burden of waste from consumption in developed countries is shifted to developing countries. ARC's plan targets this very link: not just short-term cleanup, but an attempt to involve existing local vendors and repairers in project design, rather than imposing external solutions on the existing order.

EPR is the Real Driving Force Behind the Coalition

The coalition's formation comes as the EU advances extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules for textiles. The revised Waste Framework Directive, effective in October this year, requires member states to make textile and footwear producers bear certain costs for waste collection, sorting, reuse, recycling, and disposal. The directive also introduces a fee structure differentiated by product durability and recyclability. The essence of ARC is to test whether this system can transcend EU borders and be implemented in destination countries lacking waste management capacity. Participating brands have agreed to share the funding for this pilot, and over the next two years will establish a collaborative framework involving brands, producer responsibility organizations (PROs), sorters, recyclers, policy departments, and local communities. After the first pilot is completed, the coalition will advance a second project in at least one country that heavily imports used clothing.

Production Capacity Still Rising

The pressure to make this system more than a compliance show comes from raw material usage. Inditex disclosed raw material usage of 678,596 tons in 2024, increasing to 705,554 tons in 2025, a rise of about 4%. H&M Group's product output in 2025 was approximately 364,093 tons. With apparel production capacity yet to peak, ARC's experiment will be questioned by investors and regulators: can substantive recycling outcomes in cross-border used clothing supply chains outpace production growth?

Source: Adidas, H&M, Zara Block 'Clothing Waste Mountain'… Global Coalition Launches First - IMPACT ON · Originally published on 2026-10-13