Executive Summary
Advancing a circular economy and maximizing clothing reuse across the Americas requires promoting the strategically vital secondhand clothing (SHC) industry. The global textile industry – driven by fast fashion – is a key driver of climate change, environmental degradation and global pollution. The only long-term solution is to build a circular economy for textiles based on much greater refurbishment and reuse of existing garments.
The SHC market is growing within the US and our analysis suggests that if current SHC usage trends continue, the US will reduce carbon emissions by a remarkable 167 million metric tons from 2023 to 2033, which is the equivalent of removing over 40 million gasoline cars from the road for one year.
However, there is vast scope to increase the growth of the SHC market. Our research shows that the average adult in the US has 6.2 items of clothing in their closets that they have never worn, that is an astonishing 1.6 billion items of clothing languishing in closets across America. If these items entered the SHC market and replaced new purchases, it would prevent 255,747 metric tons of waste going to landfill every year, 458,307 metric tons of clothes being incinerated every year, and save the equivalent of 3 million Olympic sized swimming pools every year.
However, the biggest potential lies in the 10.4 billion items of wearable clothing that US consumers throw away every year. This generates nearly 5.5 million tons of waste per year, equivalent to 208,000 truckloads that end up in landfill or incinerated. Much of this, with the right infrastructure and incentives, could enter the circular economy for reuse either within America or abroad. Our calculations suggest that the SHC industry, by reducing the need to produce new clothing, will save around 20 trillion gallons of water over the next decade, the equivalent to 30 million Olympic sized swimming pools.
It is clear that the most effective way to reduce the impact of textiles on the environment is to reuse unwanted clothing.
Beyond environmental sustainability, the labor-intensive SHC industry is a job creator, supporting approximately 342,000 jobs in the US, with potential for further expansion. This compares favorably with apparel manufacturing in the US which employed just under 90,000 people directly at the start of 2024.1 We estimate the US SHC sector generated $25.6 billion in annual retail sales in 2023 with the potential to increase to $75.5 billion by 2033; and created $2.5 billion in tax revenues in 2023, with the potential to rise to $8.8 billion by 2033.
The US is currently the world’s leading exporter of used clothing by value, responsible for almost a fifth (17.9%) of global trade in the sector followed by China (15%) and the UK (7.6%).2 Two-thirds (66%) of US used clothing goes to countries in Latin America, one of which is Nicaragua. This report highlights the importance of SHC to the people and economy of Nicaragua. We estimate that 90% of the population in Nicaragua purchase SHC and that the industry employed 336,635 workers in the supply chain in 2022.
In the US, there is strong public endorsement for enhancing the SHC industry, reflecting a societal shift in favor of sustainability. However, it is imperative that government supports building the infrastructure to increase reuse and educates the public on its benefits, especially for younger generations. Research for the report showed that 65% of Gen Z throw away at least one item of wearable clothing every month, compared to 55% of Millenials, 36% of Gen X and only 25% of Baby Boomers. However, Gen Z are also the most likely to purchase SHC (90%) compared to Millennials (85%), Gen X (77%), or Baby Boomers (66%).
Our survey of US consumers reveals that:
want wearable but unwanted clothes to be reused or for them to be given a second life abroad (51%), compared to just 15% who think they should be landfilled.
believe the SHC market helps to reduce the global carbon footprint.
believe the government and political leaders should support the SHC sector.
believe investing in SHC is key to a sustainable future.
think there should be more education about fast fashion's harms.
view the SHC market as crucial for the US economy.
agree on the need for more government investment to support industry growth.
To maximize the second-hand clothing sector's environmental and economic impact in the US and its trading partners, this circular textile industry urgently needs the support of politicians and a boost from the public sector.
What the SHC sector requires is:
1.
2.
3.
1. A stable regulatory framework that supports businesses that collect, sort, sell and export SHC. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes need to be designed to maximize the contribution of the existing collection, sorting and exporting infrastructure for SHC.
2. Financial incentives to make the reuse industry economically viable, with public investment mandated by legislation like the Americas Trade and Investment Act, helping create scalable business models.
3. Support for infrastructure in both Global North and Global South countries that ensures the environmentally responsible management of end-of-life textile items across the globe, while opening up new export markets to unlock further environmental and economic benefits.
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand the used clothing industry and enhance the long-term sustainability of the global textile sector. An urgent shift is required from disposable fashion to a model where reuse is prioritized, aligning with global sustainability goals. Transitioning to a circular economy can dramatically reduce waste and environmental degradation, with the SHC sector at the forefront of this transformation. However, this can only happen if governments adopt supportive policies and incentivize innovation and scalability across the clothing value chain.
1. U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024) Industries at a Glance. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag315.htm#workforce
2. The Observatory of Economic Complexity (n.d) Used Clothing. Available at: https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/used-clothing
3. King, J. (2021) Textile reuse and recycling: A SMART perspective. NIST Workshop: Facilitating a Circular Economy for Textiles.
4. Arlington Research for Garson & Shaw 2024. Respondent Base: 2,000 online interviews in the USA with adults aged 18+. Fieldwork Dates: 26 Mar-5 Apr, 2024. Calculation is based on an average purchase of 29.52 items of clothing per adult.
5. Environmental Protection Agency (2021) National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling. Available online at: https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials.