Tackling Ireland’s textile waste dilemma

Derarca Dennis explains how Ireland needs to change the way it handles textile consumerism and why regulations can’t come soon enough

The textile sector accounts for 10 percent of global emissions, more than the emissions of global shipping and aviation combined.

Traditionally operating within a linear ‘take-make-waste’ model, the sector globally consumes virgin materials at a pace far exceeding nature’s capacity for regeneration.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland consumed 53kg of textiles per person per year in 2019, up from 20.3kg in 2018.

To put this into perspective, local councils once paid for the textiles they collected are now forced to pay third parties to have them removed. This is due to a second-hand market that is increasingly overwhelmed by volumes of low-quality textiles.

The issues

Textile waste is caused by several interwoven factors, predominantly unsustainable consumption habits, cost-saving production models and inadequate waste management.

Together, these factors expose systemic inefficiencies across the value chain.

Consumer trends

We currently have enough clothing to provide for the next six generations. Just one generation ago, our parents mended their clothes, but now, three out of five textiles end up in landfills within the first year of purchase.

The convenience of online shopping, amplified by targeted advertising, has reshaped consumer behaviour. Retail ecommerce encourages impulsive purchases based on desire rather than need.

A widespread lack of awareness and education about production and waste leaves people disconnected from the true cost of their clothes. Few consider that textiles are derived from finite and living natural resources that should not be squandered.

Product design

Product design has been optimised to boost profit margins and reduce production costs.

Cheap fabrics such as polyester, nylon and acrylic are widely used due to their availability, low cost and ability to mimic the appearance and feel of natural fibres.

The production of these synthetics is energy and water-intensive while the resulting garments are low quality, non-biodegradable and release microfibres.

Additionally, most textiles are made from different blends of fibres and chemicals, making them near impossible to sort and recycle.

Infrastructure

There is a lack of adequate textile recycling infrastructure in Ireland.

Unlike well-established systems for plastic and packaging waste (PPW) or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), textile recycling is in its infancy.

The systems, technologies and policies required to support large-scale collection, sorting and material recovery do not exist.

This gap in infrastructure means that the responsibility for handling post-consumer textile waste falls to charity shops and clothing banks.

These channels serve as de facto textile recovery systems, collecting and sorting used garments with limited resources and without a formal role or budget in a national waste management strategy.

According to the EPA, charity shops and clothing banks currently collect and sort approximately 35 percent of the consumer textile waste generated in Ireland.

The remainder, an estimated 65 percent, is disposed of through household waste bins, ultimately destined for incineration or landfill.

Current regulatory landscape

The regulation of textiles is evolving and has become a priority for the European Union (EU). Several key legislative instruments are driving this transition.

The Waste Development Framework (WDF) is the EU’s overarching framework on waste management.

A recent revision to the WDF proposes the introduction of a mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles.

The key objective of the scheme is to apply the “polluter pays” principle, meaning producers rather than consumers will need to take accountability for post-consumer waste.

As of 1 January 2025, the WDF requires all member states to have a separate collection system for textiles. The idea is to boost reuse and recycling, but Ireland lacks the infrastructure to sort and process these textiles properly at scale.

The upcoming Circular Economy Act in 2026 will build on the previous 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan. Its aim is to create market demand for secondary materials and establish a single market for waste.

The Circular Economy Act should complement and facilitate the implementation of the Eco-design for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR).

The ESPR working plan is due to be enforced in 2028 and includes textiles as one of the four priority sectors.

ESPR criteria require textiles to meet specific sustainability and circularity requirements to be placed on the European market.

The expected criteria include minimum requirements for durability, repairability and recyclability, as well as limits on microplastic shedding from synthetic fibres and the introduction of Digital Product Passports (DPP).

These digital passports will store essential information about product sustainability, promote circularity and ensure stronger legal compliance.

A key measure of the regulation outlines a ban on the destruction of unsold textiles. It will also require large and eventually medium-sized companies to publicly disclose annual data on discarded products, including the quantity and reasons for disposal.

The EU’s updated Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR), which will apply from May 2026, will restrict the export of textile waste to prevent member states from exporting unsorted textiles.

This will work in tandem with ESPR and EPR, no longer allowing brands to dump textile waste in developing countries.

These regulations are set to reshape the retail sector and, in turn, consumer behaviour. Consumers will be empowered through increased transparency and retailers will be held responsible for environmental impacts across their supply chain.

What businesses can do

Global fashion brands must invest in next-generation materials and technologies and integrate them into their production processes. Garments must be manufactured to be reused, remade and recycled.

Reimagining growth looks different for every material, however. Industry experts such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Textile Exchange advocate for the phasing out of fossil-fuel-based synthetics.

Instead, sustainably sourced and renewable natural fibres should be favoured.

The retail sector will need to align more with a “regenerative economy” and “post-growth” principles. However, moving from linear to circular requires new attitudes, knowledge and skill sets.

This is particularly true for product development and, in the case of textiles, designers. The European Commission states that 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage, before production even begins.

Business models need to adapt to include services linked to reuse and repair, which will optimise their ability to generate new revenues.

Collective progress

Creating a circular economy is about collective progress. When everyone takes small, conscious steps, the impact becomes transformational.

It isn’t too late to turn things around. Through collaboration between government, business and consumers, we can eliminate waste while still growing economies.

Derarca Dennis is Partner, Climate Change and Sustainability Services at EY