FAQs

For environmental and economic reasons, we no longer produce new bags. You may use any type of bag; even ordinary bin liners are acceptable. The aim is to protect the clothes, so it is important that the bags are tied shut and that shoes are bundled in pairs. Thank you very much for your cooperation, trust and understanding.

TEXAID collects used clothing through clothing bins, in-store drop-off points, or package returns (in Germany only). In Switzerland, TEXAID provides over 5’800 collection bins nationwide for free drop-off of used clothing.

Switzerland already has an efficient and nationwide collection and recycling system for used textiles, which is also entirely self-financed. Each year, approximately 62’000 tons of textiles are collected separately in Switzerland. According to available data from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the additional potential that can be tapped amounts to approximately 9’000 tons per year. The current collection rate is thus already over 85 percent. TEXAID alone collects approximately 33’000 tons of used textiles per year.
(Source: https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/85964.pdf) in German

Our goal is to further recycle textiles and thereby conserve resources. TEXAID achieves a secondhand reuse rate (ReUSe) of 60 percent. This exceeds the European industry average, which is approximately 45 to 50 percent.

About 30 percent of the sorted textiles are no longer suitable for reuse and are sent through various recycling processes. Approximately 15 percent can be processed into cleaning rags used in industry for cleaning and polishing. Another 15 percent goes into textile recycling—they are defibered and mixed with other materials as a raw material or processed into insulation materials. Textiles that can no longer be recycled, non-textile items, and heavily soiled textiles account for about 10 percent of the sorted volume and are disposed of properly.

TEXAID thus achieves a material recycling rate of about 90 percent at its own sorting facilities.

The proceeds from the sale cover the costs of collecting, sorting, and recycling used textiles. This funds all expenses (wages, logistics, sorting, research, etc.).

For over 45 years, TEXAID has combined business operations with social commitment and environmental responsibility, offering free used clothing collection in Switzerland. From TEXAID’s perspective, when the public drops off used clothing, it is never considered a donation, but rather the disposal of used clothing.

TEXAID sells used clothing and shoes in its own secondhand stores and exports sorted used clothing to Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia, and Africa. Unsorted textiles—but those cleared of obvious waste—are sold to sorting facilities in Italy, Belgium, and Eastern Europe.

Please refer to the Sustainability Report for further information.

Secondhand clothing offers many people in low- and middle-income countries affordable access to good-quality clothing. In Africa in particular, secondhand clothing is widespread and culturally ingrained, with clothing often being passed down, repaired, or reused. Reusing textiles is also significantly more environmentally friendly than producing new goods.

Secondhand trade creates numerous jobs and is thus an important economic factor in recipient countries. It does not displace the local textile industry but rather complement it, as both sectors serve different needs and market segments.

The transition to a functioning circular textile value chain requires coordinated collaboration among all stakeholders both domestically and internationally. In addition to a clear and reliable regulatory framework, there is a particular need for investments in infrastructure and technology, improvements in input quality, and scalable recycling solutions tailored to the used textile stream. TEXAID will continue to actively fulfill its role in this system, focusing on strengthening existing structures, further developing operational processes and technical expertise, and ensuring high-quality material streams for downstream recycling.

Not all collected textiles can be reused as secondhand clothing. To ensure that even textiles that are no longer wearable are recycled to the highest possible standard, TEXAID has been engaged in research and development in the field of textile recycling and sorting since 2014 and has had its own Research & Development department since 2018. Our goal is to recycle the materials separated during the sorting process to the highest possible standard and to reduce the amount of waste generated during sorting through innovative recycling solutions.

We work in two core areas—textile recycling and textile sorting—and focus in particular on the following topics:

- Establishing and expanding partnerships with recycling companies to develop high-quality recycling pathways and provide sorted textiles as feedstock

- Automating and digitizing the sorting process using technologies such as near-infrared spectroscopy or AI to make sorting for recycling technically and financially feasible

- Further developing processing methods to improve the quality of the raw material and the economic viability of recycling

- Monitoring developments in extended producer responsibility (EPR) and positioning ourselves accordingly in various markets

We are addressing these topics through research projects in Switzerland and at the European level. In doing so, we collaborate with partners across the entire textile value chain, including recycling companies, international associations (Recycling Europe, Bureau for International Recycling, etc.), universities (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts), innovation and technology partners (Recycling Atelier at ITA Augsburg), public agencies, and other industry partners.