Crisis among used clothing collectors: Bremen is fighting against the flood of garbage and fast fashion!

Crisis among used clothing collectors: Bremen is fighting against the flood of garbage and fast fashion!

In Bremen, the sight of overfilled old clothing containers and garbage bags has long been part of the cityscape. Is this due to the increased amount of clothing collected or the serious organizational problems? The Bremen city cleaning service no longer commissioned the company Soex, which previously regularly emptied the containers, due to its insolvency in October 2024. As a result, not only were the containers only sporadically emptied, but 20 to 25 of a total of 330 containers also had to be dismantled, which further aggravated the situation.

Interzero (IZ) Circular Textiles GmbH took over Soex in May 2024 and the city cleaning department now hopes that this new company will get the problems under control. The aim is to put the dismantled containers back in place by autumn. But there are great concerns: illegal dumping of waste around the containers could become a serious problem. More and more often, not only old clothes but also garbage end up in the containers. The proportion of waste has now reached a sad 15%, which significantly increases the costs of disposal.

The influence of fast fashion

According to Thomas Ahlmann from “FairWertung”, overconsumption and the spread of fast fashion chains are the main reasons for the difficulties in collecting used clothing. Ahlmann warned that cheap new goods in particular pose a serious threat to the structure of the second-hand market. In order to stabilize the situation in the long term, cities and municipalities should consider charging fees for the collection of used clothing.

In the fight against the market downturn, non-profit collectors such as the Inner Mission, the German Red Cross and Caritas in Bremen are also in focus. These organizations play a central role in the collection of used clothing and are therefore dependent on the quality of the clothing collected. But the situation is anything but simple: As new reports show, the quality of used clothes is declining as more and more bad and unsustainable clothing ends up in the containers. This is also related to changing consumer behavior, as people tend to buy increasingly cheaper clothing items that often have a short lifespan.

Disposal of old clothing in times of crisis

The market for second-hand goods has changed dramatically; the amount of textiles collected has even tripled. However, this is no reason to be happy: the price of newly produced clothing is often lower than that of second-hand goods, which puts a lot of pressure on buyers. Thomas Fischer from BVSE argues that politicians should temporarily waive parking space fees for containers in order to defuse the situation. Ahlmann also advocates expanded product responsibility for textiles so that manufacturers will be responsible for collecting, sorting and recycling their products in the future.

Soex, which formerly sorts 100,000 tons of used clothing annually and sells usable clothing primarily to Eastern Europe and Africa, is now facing financial challenges. According to managing director Fred Ponath, an adjustment to the business model is unavoidable. While non-recyclable clothing is often sold as insulation, this remains profitable but is the long-term solution.

The local used clothing collection is facing major challenges. The positive aspects such as well-preserved clothing, shoes, hats, caps and bed linen that belong in the collection are overshadowed by the increased amount of garbage in the containers and the corona-related decline in donations. Even wet, heavily soiled or damaged clothing has no place here.

It remains to be seen whether the new city cleaning measures in Bremen will be fruitful and whether the second-hand market can stabilize again. The challenges are enormous. Only through close cooperation between collectors, politicians and citizens can the old clothing collection in Bremen be put on a successful path. Who would have thought that so much responsibility and efficiency could be found in old clothes?

Further details on the situation regarding the disposal of used clothing can be found in the articles from butenunbinden, mdr and consumer protection forum.