A total of 20,816 tons of used clothes, home textiles and shoes were disposed of ecologically sensible in TEXAID collection containers and bags in 2009. Thanks to an unabated demand for good quality Swiss second hand wares in the customer countries the most prominent Swiss collection organization was able to close the recession year 2009 with a good overall result and could pay out more than 2.7 million francs to the affiliated aid organizations and regional organizations.
20,816 tons of used textiles and shoes, an increase of 2.9 percent compared to the previous year, found their way to TEXAID. Therewith the collection organization generated revenues of 2.73 million francs for the aid organizations (previous year: 2.74 million francs). Samaritan societies, Kolping families and local youth groups received 1.6 million francs and 1.13 million francs went to the six affiliated aid organizations Swiss Red Cross, Caritas Switzerland, Winter Aid Switzerland, Swiss Kolping Society, Swiss Workers' Relief Organization and the aid organization of the Swiss Union of Evangelical Churches (HEKS). In the Canton of
More than 3,500 TEXAID containers
TEXAID's ability to even slightly increase the amount of collected goods in spite of the economic crisis can be attributed to the large number of currently 3,527 red n white old textiles containers in Switzerland and, so says TEXAID's CEO Martin Böschen, to the great trust of the population when it comes to the disposal of used clothing in the most sensible way. The collection organization is the only one with own sorting facilities and it has nearly 100 employees in this country.
Old textiles as commodities
Well preserved used textiles and shoes are coveted second hand products in economically weak countries. They allow people with low income to get high-quality fashionable clothing at reasonable prices nevertheless. According to Martin Böschen, «one must abandon the notion that the collection organizations are giving away the clothes for free. Old textiles have been a modern commodity for decades. However, TEXAID differs from its competitors by sorting the pieces in its own sorting plants. This way, in addition to the high domestic value added, we also ensure the optimal further use of the used textiles.» About 55 percent are still wearable, roughly 15 percent are defective cotton textiles that will be cut into industrial cleaning rags, approximately 20 percent are suitable for recycling and subsequent reuse, the remaining 10 percent are garbage and must be disposed of for a fee. Immediate clothing donations to people in need are exclusively performed by the aid organizations, but their share in the total volume of the collected old clothes is negligible.