4,200 Tonnes of Textile Waste Caught in Illegal Export

A shipment described as reusable clothing turned out to be tonnes of textile waste. And let’s not even get into why it existed in the first place. What was even the need to produce so much?

The European Anti-Fraud Office, known as OLAF, recently seized around 4,200 tonnes of textile waste that had been illegally exported from Italy to Türkiye.

According to OLAF, the shipments were wrongly labelled to avoid stricter and more expensive recycling requirements. 

The waste contained large amounts of non-biodegradable acrylic fibres, which do not naturally break down.

Nearly 2,100 tonnes of textiles were also found inside a warehouse owned by a Turkish recycling facility that was reportedly not following local environmental rules. Turkish authorities seized the shipments.

In Italy, authorities also raided a business complex linked to the exports. They seized its trucks and around €12 million in financial assets. 

Why Would Anyone Mislabel Textile Waste?

Recycling difficult textile waste can be costly.

Some synthetic fabrics cannot be reused or turned into new clothes. They must be properly sorted and processed using suitable technology.

And by labelling this waste as reusable material, those involved could allegedly avoid the cost of proper treatment and move it across borders more easily.

The EU Recently Changed Its Rules

This case comes less than a year after new EU textile waste rules entered into force on 16th October 2025.

Under the revised rules, textiles collected separately must first be treated as waste. They must be properly sorted before they can be exported as reusable products.

Textile Waste Should Not Be Moved 

Sending unwanted clothing abroad does not count as reuse.

Some clothes can have a second life, but damaged textiles must not be hidden as donations or reusable goods.

This shipment was seized, but the clothes in illegal shipments do not disappear into thin air, right? It is still a problem that so much textile waste exists in the first place.

This is also the reality of many textile dumps in the Global South. So how long will this continue?

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