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Height of fashion? Clothes mountains build up as recycling breaks down

A worker carries a bale of imported second-hand clothes past displayed apparel, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak at the Gikomba Market in Nairobi, Kenya on September 18, 2020. [Reuters, Thomas Mukoya]

Clothes recycling is the pressure-release valve of fast fashion, and it’s breaking under COVID-19 curbs.

The multi-billion-dollar trade in second-hand clothing helps prevent the global fashion industry’s growing pile of waste going straight to landfill, while keeping wardrobes clear for next season’s designs. But it’s facing a crisis.

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