In Denmark, Nearly 7 Million Tons Of New Clothes Are Sent To Incinerators For Sale

According to the latest data on the waste of new clothes from Econet, a Danish waste analysis company, quoted by Danish news media on October 19, 2020, nearly 7 million tons of waste new clothes were sent to the incinerator for destruction.

Jakob Lamm zeuthe, head of environmental policy at Danish erhverv, explained the data: manufacturers don't discard clothes for no reason, and there are many reasons for businesses to destroy new clothes. First of all, the clothes that are destroyed may contain illegal colorants, or the wrong materials are used in making clothes. Another explanation is that due to the tax law, manufacturers will be subject to value-added tax if they send their discarded clothes as gifts. However, if it is disposed of as scrap, it will not be taxed.

According to a previous survey conducted by the Danish environmental protection agency to large clothing companies, it is estimated that nearly 200 tons of clothing are destroyed every year. In order to reduce the destruction of discarded flawless new clothes, the Danish Consumer Council has approached 85 companies representing 115 clothing brands to sign a commitment agreement not to destroy the discarded and flawless new clothes, and will recycle these clothes, including 50 companies including salling group, coop, H & M and boozt.

The 240 second-hand shops run by the Danish charity Red Cross receive 8500 tons of recycled clothing a year. Most of these recycled clothes are sent to Red Cross entity second-hand shops for sale or transported to Eastern Europe and other places. "So far, most of the clothes have been used, but there are also a lot of customers coming to the store looking for new clothes," said Tina donnerborg, recycling manager of the Red Cross. As a result, the organization is happy to be a recycling site for new clothes without defects. " "At present, very few donations of discarded new clothes are received because many companies are worried about damaging their brand reputation," Yi said. Therefore, we propose in the agreement that the trademark will be cut off before the sale of the new clothes that are not to be destroyed, so as to achieve the purpose of recycling. 」