Threads of Truth
How many of us have dropped clothes into bring-banks or shop take-back schemes and wondered what really happened next? We assume our unwanted items will quickly find a new home nearby, naively thinking that our unwanted clothes might still be helping, not hindering. But where does that pair of jeans end up? And why is the world of textile recycling in Ireland, still so murky?
A new investigation Threads of Truth by VOICE Ireland, and the Dublin Hub of the Global Shapers aims to bring clarity to a system that has operated largely out of sight. By placing trackers in 23 donated items, the team uncovered a very different reality: 95% of the tracked clothing was exported out of the country, and 60% left the EU.
