As the EU prepares to ban waste textile exports to non-approved non-OECD countries, new research from sustainability consultancy Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd and Norwegian consultancy Mepex shows that most used textiles exported from the Nordic countries stay in Europe: 71% of tracked items had their last recorded location on the continent after six months.
The principal locations were Poland (30%) and Slovakia (18%), countries that are also major providers of textile sorting services. These sorters, and the rules that govern them, play a key role in deciding what happens to used European textiles, as part of a complex value chain with limited transparency. The report calls for measures to increase transparency, ensure textiles are sent to appropriate destinations, increased recycling capacity at home and stronger domestic second-hand markets.
Based on 200 digital trackers placed in discarded clothing from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and followed for six months across 23 countries, the study is one of the most detailed examinations to date of where Nordic used textiles go. Beyond Europe, tracked items reached Asia-Pacific (18%), with Pakistan alone accounting for 14%, as well as Africa (9%) and the Middle East (3%).
High labour costs lead Nordic countries to export most textiles unsorted, principally to European neighbours with established sorting industries, such as Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia and Germany. Drawing on specialist expertise and established grading processes, these facilities assess garments against a range of criteria to determine the most appropriate onward destination, whether for reuse, repair, remanufacturing or recycling.
This concentration matters: according to the report, better information from a small number of destination countries could substantially improve the ability to monitor where exported textiles go.
The research also identifies a wider challenge: little is known about final environmental outcomes once textiles move beyond Europe’s sorting hubs. Trade statistics show where exported textiles go first, not where they ultimately end up, and traceability declines significantly beyond the first sorting stage. Lower grades are the most likely to leave Europe: 56% of the lowest-quality (Grade D) garments had a recorded endpoint outside Europe, compared with 24% of the highest-quality (Grade A) items. Information on how much is ultimately reused or recycled is sorely lacking.
To close this gap, the report sets out three priorities for Nordic policymakers, with lessons for the rest of Europe. The aim is not to restrict beneficial trade in used textiles, but to suggest how the whole system could be improved in light of currently changing regulations:
Reduce the quantity of low-grade textiles exported to developing countries, through a clearer way of describing the quality and content of used-textile consignments, stronger downstream accountability for low-grade textiles and minimum standards for receiving facilities.
Improve domestic management of lower-grade textiles, by expanding regional recycling capacity and using Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes to create stronger incentives for quality and circularity.
Increase domestic markets for used textiles, particularly higher grades, by increasing support for domestic reuse markets and using EPR schemes to support reuse and repair.
These recommendations come at a decisive moment for EU textile policy. Since January 2025, Member States have had to collect textiles separately, and since July 2026, large companies have been banned from destroying unsold textiles and footwear under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The European Commission is expected to publish the list of non-OECD countries allowed to receive waste textile exports, ahead of a ban on exports to all other non-OECD countries from May 2027. By April 2028, every Member State must have EPR schemes for textiles in place, requiring producers to finance collection, sorting and treatment.
Europe generates 6.95 million tonnes of textile waste a year, but only 28% is separately collected and less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new garments. The new rules will bring more textiles into the system, including a higher proportion of low-quality, ultra-fast fashion, while the sector still relies on non-European markets for the lowest grades and for recycling.
Read the full report here: https://eunomia.eco/reports/used-and-waste-textiles-exports-from-nordics/