A sweet red dress, perhaps intended for a little girl and a special occasion. The dress is produced far outside Norway’s borders, shipped to the far north of the world and bought at H&M in Oslo. We don’t know the full story behind the dress and don’t know why, but with the exchange tag on it ended up in the trash. The only thing we know is that there were also heaps of other usable clothes in the rubbish. These are textiles that were in the residual waste. Photo: Mepex – To cry about By examining garment by garment from the residual waste, Kristiane Rabben and Ingun Grimstad Klepp have found that more than half of the textiles we throw away are neither very worn nor damaged. As part of the Wasted Textiles research project, 3,078 kg of textiles from the residual waste in the three geographical areas, Oslo, Romerike and Vestfold, have been analysed. The quality of 4 tonnes of clothing has been carefully assessed. The textiles in this image are discarded, but not part of the analysis. Photo: Kristine Ramberg Aasen / news The sample tests showed that 65 percent of the textiles people threw in the trash were of such good quality that they could be reused. – I think it makes me cry. It’s surprising that we throw away so much usable stuff. It’s just sad, quite simply, says Rabben, who is a senior adviser at Mepex. On a national basis, the analysis they have worked out shows that 49,000 tonnes of clothes and shoes are thrown into the residual waste every year. That means 9 kg per person. In addition, everything we give away goes to charities. Wasted Textiles A collaborative project with the aim of helping to reduce the use of synthetic textiles and the amount that goes astray. Supported by the Norwegian Research Council and Handelens Miljøfond. The project started in April 2021 and is scheduled to last over 4 years and be completed in the first quarter of 2025. The report “Deep dive into material flows for textiles from households in Norway” has been carried out as part of the Wasted Textiles project. A new item of clothing has been thrown in the trash. Photo: Mepex – The big challenge is to reduce the volumes. This is what Ingun Grimstad Klepp at the Consumer Research Institute SIFO and head of the collaborative project Wasted Textiles says. Klepp says that we must import less clothing, buy fewer textiles, treat them correctly and use them longer. Our textile consumption causes emissions in other countries The clothing industry accounts for around 10 per cent of the world’s total CO₂ emissions, but the emissions from textiles do not occur in this country. Until now, the official accounts have only shown emissions that occur within Norway’s borders, but for the first time the Norwegian Environment Agency has looked at what our consumption leads to emissions in other countries. Consumption-based climate accounting Of the emissions from consumption in Norway in 2020, approximately 61 per cent were ‘imported’, through the purchase of goods and services produced in other countries. Household consumption accounts for around half of the climate footprint, where 59 per cent of household consumption emissions come from importing goods. These are emissions in other countries from production and transport to Norway. Source: Norwegian Environment Agency The estimates show that the consumption of textiles and clothing in Norwegian households leads to emissions of just under 3 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. Textiles found in the residual waste. Photo: Kristine Ramberg Aasen / news – Especially for textiles and a number of other consumption categories, almost all emissions occur in other countries, and especially in developing countries. That’s according to climate advisor in the Norwegian Environment Agency, Ingvild Byskov, who explains that this is precisely one reason why this account is important. – If we do not have this overview, then they are not visible in the national accounts we have today and in that sense it is difficult to do anything about what you do not have good figures for. The analysis shows that food and transport are the biggest consumption-related emissions in addition to construction. – Textiles and clothing are one of the largest consumption categories in terms of other consumption, so it comes up quite high. Representatives from MDG now want consumption-related emissions to be measured every year. Textiles must be out of the bin From 2025, the EU will no longer want textiles to be thrown in the residual waste. The Norwegian Environment Agency has proposed that the municipalities in Norway will have an obligation to accept textile waste from 1 January 2025, but they will not say anything about how this should be done. The directorate wants that to be up to the municipalities. Recently, several municipalities and private actors have tested how this can be carried out. How can one be sure that the overall emissions from the textile industry will decrease by introducing a collection of textile waste? – Collection of textile waste is a first step to achieve better utilization of resources, in addition to the fact that it is a requirement from the EU, replies Jone Rivrud Rygg, section leader in circular waste management in the Norwegian Environment Agency. He says that the new requirements will ensure that textile waste that currently goes to incineration instead goes to reuse or material recycling. This will in turn help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are currently no plans for who will receive the textile waste after it has been collected. – We are aware that there is limited capacity today, but there are many initiatives underway and we expect a market to be established that facilitates sorting and material recycling throughout Europe, says Rygg.
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New clothes right in the bin – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
