This year has proven to be "an unmitigated catastrophe" and "by far the worst year on record" for the German waste textiles sector. One longstanding market player summed 2025 up as "a disaster".
Insiders told EUWID that hardly a day went by without another charity announcing that it was pulling its clothing banks. There were now entire regions where civic amenity sites were the only places where the public could drop off used textiles and shoes.
While sorted stock could still find buyers, everything was proving extremely laborious. "We can get material out the door, but at prices that hardly cover costs," one sorter remarked.
Business with buyers in Africa was running at a low level, hampered by challenges with planning sea freight. Major payment transfer issues were compounding matters, one sorter added, noting that the lack of foreign currency meant that payments were hard to plan and often took three to six months.
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