Environment

Circular economy, six tips to reduce the impact of textile waste

The Ecotessili consortium's vademecum to improve recycling. Every year we buy 19 kilos of clothing and throw 12 kilos away

by Davide Madeddu

5 March 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The six tips
Virtuous behaviour

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Six strategies to make clothes and shoes last longer, improve environmental impact and reduce the volume of textile waste. These are the points highlighted by Ecotessili, an Italia Consortium established in 2021 for the collection and recovery of waste from clothing, accessories, linen, and footwear.

The starting point is the fact that every year we buy 19 kilos of clothing and throw away 12 kilos. It is no coincidence that per capita consumption increased by 2 kilos per year between 2019 and 2022, while the average number of uses per garment decreased by 36%.

"Reducing waste starts with an upstream intervention, i.e. by extending the useful life of garments and footwear," is the reflection of Giancarlo Dezio, Ecotessili's general manager. Each additional use makes it possible to valorise the resources used to produce them and to contain the amount of waste to be managed'.

The six suggestions

And then the suggestions. Six points include choosing quality and durability 'and favouring products made of durable materials and designed to last'.

Then pay attention to the complex composition: 'Garments with a mix of synthetic fibres, which are difficult to separate, make recycling expensive and complicated, when not impossible.

Then there is maintenance care: 'Follow the washing instructions on the label, limit aggressive treatments and intervene as soon as possible on stains and minor damage.

No less important is the possibility to repair before replacing: 'Fixing buttons, zips or soles can avoid premature discarding'.

Then reuse and share: "Donating, exchanging or buying used allows you to extend the life of products and reduce the demand for new items.

The last trick is to confiscate correctly at the end of its life: 'When a garment is no longer reusable, it is essential to send it for separate textile collection in order to promote material recovery.

Virtuous behaviour

"The circular economy in textiles starts with awareness and the adoption of virtuous behaviour," Dezio emphasises. "Making purchases with the durability of garments in mind, using them as much as possible and, only as a last resort, sending them for separate collection is the sequence of actions that makes it possible to counter the growth of textile waste.

These interventions are indispensable for operating in a sector such as textiles that is considered among those most intensive in terms of raw materials, water and energy. "Shortening the lifecycle of products multiplies the environmental impacts linked to production, transport and disposal," Ecotessili emphasise. "This is why the effective life of a garment is one of the key factors in improving its environmental impact and why sustainable consumption choices can lengthen its useful life.