Islamabad: The data that focus on the ‘International Waste Day 2025’ reveal that 92 million tons of textile waste occur worldwide each year, equal to a garbage truck full of incinerated clothes or sent to landfills every second.
The ‘Zero Remados Day’ is observed on Sunday, the waste highlights in the fashion and textile industry, highlighting the environmental and social challenges of overproduction and excessive consumption caused by the linear business model of the sector.
The rapid growth in textile production and consumption is overcoming sustainability efforts in the sector, causing serious environmental, economic and social impacts, particularly in the global south.
The United Nations says that the production of textile waste doubled from 2000 to 2015, while the duration of garment decreased by 36pc, while 11pc of plastic waste come from clothing and textiles, with only 8pc of textile firs in 2023 made of recycled sources.
The UN emphasizes that a zero waste approach is key to the transition required to more circular approaches, since discarded clothing ends in low -income countries, where the lack of waste management infrastructure leads to discharges, burning and serious environmental and social consequences. In addition, textile and fashion waste in cities often end up in landfills, where it has been decomposing and releases greenhouse gases.
92m tons of waste that produces Evey year worldwide
In Pakistan, according to the findings of a study, about 270,125.34 tons of textile waste are generated, including approximately 19,304,58 tons of karachi.
The study published by the Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, shows that among the economic classes of Pakistan, the class of the highest textiles are discarded by the low -income class (Class C); Plus class tends to be based on approximately 195 kg of clothing annually, while class A and B demonstrates an annual disposal of 150 kg and 105 kg of textile waste respectively.
The main challenge for the sustainable management of textile waste in Pakistan is inappropriate technical and financial resources and lack of consciousness.
The study finds that there is a significant lack of consciousness among people educated in Pakistan about the management and recycling of textile waste. This knowledge gap is mainly due to limited awareness campaigns and the absence of environmental concerns and textile waste recycling issues in higher education curricula.
Textile industries in Pakistan are also inadequately familiar with the recycling of textile waste and their economic, environmental and social implications. Currently, textile industries in the country lack a consolidated approach to the sustainable management of textile waste that results in losing economic benefits, such as the generation of income through the sale and export of recycled textiles in addition to the environmental benefits of the recycling and reuse of waste.
“Unsupply fashion is aggravating the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature, land loss and biodiversity, and pollution and waste,” said Iger Andersen, executive director of UNEP.
“We need to focus on a circular economy approach that values sustainable production, reuse and repair. When working together, consumers, industry and governments can support genuinely lasting fashion and help reduce our fashion footprint.”
Posted in Dawn, March 30, 2025
