Nordic Study Tracks 200 Used Garments Across 23 Countries

Researchers tracked 200 discarded garments from five Nordic countries through 23 countries and found that trade statistics lose sight of most items after their first export leg. The study, by consultancy Eunomia Research & Consulting and Norwegian firm Mepex, ran digital trackers for six months and recorded final known locations: 71 percent of garments were last seen in Europe, with Poland at 30 percent and Slovakia at 18 percent. Pakistan ranked third at 14 percent.

The report, "Understanding Used and Waste Textiles Exports from the Nordics," covered clothing collected in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It combined tracking devices with trade data, interviews with collectors and country-level research in importing markets. The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, the Nordic Council of Ministers and Shape Foundation funded the work.

What does the tracking data show?

Last recorded location does not equal final destination, and the researchers stress that distinction. The tracking window closed before some garments finished moving, and exporters themselves can usually identify only their immediate buyers. Subsequent shipments, processing steps and end points stay largely invisible in official statistics.

The regional split: 66 percent of items were last recorded inside the EU or European Economic Area, and 34 percent outside. Asia-Pacific accounted for 18 percent of the sample, Africa for 9 percent and the Middle East for 3 percent.

Four tracked items reached secondhand markets in Nigeria through Benin, despite Nigeria's prohibition on used clothing imports. The researchers cited that route as evidence of how intermediary countries break the traceability chain. The study did not directly document illegal dumping, burning or environmental leakage, and the trackers could not confirm whether garments were reused, recycled, stored or discarded.

Why does garment grade matter?

Quality strongly shaped where items travelled. Of garments graded D — the lowest category — 56 percent had their last recorded location outside Europe. Grade A garments showed 24 percent, Grade B 17 percent and Grade C 33 percent. The pattern implies that low-grade textiles depend more heavily on international markets, where reuse and recycling prospects vary with local demand and processing capacity.

Higher-quality garments also reached African and Asian markets, which the study says extend garment lifetimes. Destination is not purely a function of condition: seasonality, style, local preference and trading relationships all steer where clothing lands. Winter-weight Nordic garments, for example, hold limited resale value in warm markets regardless of condition.

High labour costs mean Nordic countries export most collected textiles unsorted, relying on grading operations in Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Slovakia and Bulgaria. Garments then move through further wholesalers, sorters and importing countries — movements that initial-export trade data never captures.

What is changing in the regulatory picture?

Collection streams are already under strain. Stakeholders interviewed for the study reported rising volumes of low-cost, damaged, contaminated and hard-to-resell garments entering collection systems, a shift driven by fast-fashion consumption. EU rules requiring separate textile collection from household waste will push more material into systems built around the resale value of wearable clothing.

Two regulatory instruments now raise the compliance stakes. Under revised Waste Framework Directive provisions, member states must establish extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems for textiles, obliging producers to help finance collection, sorting and treatment. Separately, the revised Waste Shipment Regulation will restrict waste exports to certain non-OECD countries from 2027.

"Europe is entering a new era of textile accountability, and the U.K. cannot afford to watch from the sidelines," said Vita Ellis, sustainability consultant at Eunomia. "This new research shows that better traceability is becoming a business necessity, not just a regulatory requirement, including for UK brands and retailers selling into the EU, who will have to comply with textile EPR schemes there."

Kathrine Kirkevaag, senior adviser at Mepex, defended the existing export model while acknowledging the pressure. "It is important to recognize the model Nordic collectors have used for decades, exporting used textiles to sorting hubs mainly in Central and Eastern Europe," she said. "The findings show that textile exports play an important role in supporting reuse and extending garment lifetimes."

What must sourcing and compliance teams decide?

The report recommends clearer textile-quality classifications, stronger accountability for lower-grade exports and minimum standards for receiving facilities. It also calls for investment in Nordic sorting and recycling infrastructure and support for domestic reuse, repair and longer-lasting design. EPR fees could finance these changes if structured to reward durability, repairability and recyclability rather than raw collection volumes.

Without better downstream oversight, the researchers warn, rising collection volumes will simply push more difficult material through the same international chains. Brands exporting into the EU face a concrete decision: build visibility into where sorted textiles actually go, or wait for EPR and 2027 export restrictions to force it.