Fate of discarded apparel

3 Managing apparel end of life Retailer take-back programs 

Apparel disposal supported by retailers as part of in-house take-back programs represent what has been called a circular economy, where a company redesigns products and services with a much greater and much more acute understanding, not just of the wants and needs of their customers, but the way in which they use and then dispose of products and services (Kennett, 2014). Examples of circular economy leaders include US firms Eileen Fisher (Green Eileen) and Patagonia (Common Threads). 

As of 2013, over 40,000 items had been sold through the Common Threads storefront on eBay (Reinhardt et al., 2014). 

From 1999 to 2009 in the United States, the amount of postconsumer textile waste (PCTW) reportedly increased by 40% whereas the rate of landfill diversion for PCTW only increased by 2% (www.weardonaterecycle.org). Similarly, from 2003 to 2008, the UK reported a rapid rise in textile waste (from 7% to 30%), which was attributed to the consumption of mass quantities of disposable fashion from bargain retailers (Poulter, 2008). Textiles are 100% recyclable or reusable in some form, and then-diversion from landfills also reduces the impact of the degradation process for many 

The resale of used clothing in developing countries is frequently carried out as part of an informal economy led by individual importers and/or entrepreneurs and can employ a network of people involved in transport, repairs, alterations, or laundering for the used clothing. However, critics of the importation of used clothing to developing countries (particularly African countries) note that domestic apparel and 

---