Visible from Space: The Atacama’s Dumping Ground for Unwanted Clothes

My recent post highlighted Ghana’s plight in waste colonialism related to the textile trade. This time we focus on Chile.

Chile is Latin America’s biggest consumer of clothes and, in 2022, imported around 124,000 tonnes of second-hand textiles from across the world. In the same year, it was estimated that 300 hectares in northern Chile had been contaminated by textile waste.

The world’s chronic overproduction of textiles and fast fashion culture are a big part of this story. So is the free-trade port of Iquique in northern Chile. There, businesses can import, store, and sell goods without paying customs fees or VAT. Those goods, of course, include used clothing.

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Though the clothes create much-needed local jobs, the unsellable stock is a huge problem. The local council's landfill only accepts household waste, not commercial imports.

What traders should do is export unsold clothes, pay tax to sell them elsewhere in Chile or send them to an authorised company. However, these options cost money, whereas dumping them in the desert is free. In theory, you can get caught and receive a fine, but the under-resourced local authorities can’t keep up with lorry after lorry dumping clothes, including in the Atacama Desert.

One of the many mountains of garments littering the desert can be seen from space and is growing by about 39,000 tons a year. For the most part, the garments are synthetic, will take centuries to biodegrade and will contaminate soil, air and water.

The solution? The Debrand Team highlights the need to ensure imported clothes are usable, listen to local communities and involve brands, policymakers, recyclers, sellers and consumers in the process.

In our own lives, we can hold governments, brands and retailers accountable and perhaps think twice about putting stained or ripped clothes in a clothing bank.

How about repairing them, upcycling them or saving them for messy DIY jobs, a craft activity or a good spaghetti bolognese?!

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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk

Images:

A large pile of mixed clothing  - Image by NEOSiAM 18+ (ST ref: 1406)

Map of Chile from Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook.