Second hand: 1 million kilos of waste seized as part of the Jco Demeter XI operation
The phenomenon mainly affects developing countries and challenges related to fast fashion and circular economy
Trade in goods declared as second-hand instead of being classified as textile waste is growing. This is what was underlined at the end of the 'Jco Demeter XI' operation carried out for Italia by the Guardia di Finanza and in which the customs of other countries also participated. During the joint customs operations carried out on the national territory under the coordination of the Anti-Fraud Directorate of the Customs and Monopolies Agency and the General Command of the Guardia di Finanza, "the Customs Offices," the Guardia di Finanza underlined in a note, "found violations for approximately 1,037,137 kilos of waste, of which the prevalent share, equal to 905,237 kilos, was textile waste.
Joint operation
The Joint Customs Operation to suppress illegal transboundary movements of waste under the Basel Convention and illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and F-GAS controlled under the Montreal Protocol took place from 6 to 26 October 2025 and from 17 to 30 November 2025.
120 countries participated in the operation, which was coordinated by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in cooperation with the Chinese Customs Administration and the WCO's Asia/Pacific Regional Intelligence Liaison Office.
Criticality emerges
"The edition that has just ended brought to light the exponential growth in the illegal trade of goods declared to be second-hand, instead of being classified as textile waste," wrote the Fiamme gialle in a note, "highlighting a highly critical situation mainly linked to so-called 'fast fashion' and the challenges of the circular economy.
Trades that, 'by their nature, predominantly affect developing countries, particularly South-East Asian nations - including Thailand - as well as other destination areas such as Pakistan and Tunisia'.
