The Salvation Army Trading Company has suspended the collection of donated textiles from household waste and recycling centres, citing rising donation volumes, increasing costs and wider economic pressures affecting the used clothing sector.
The Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL) has suspended textile collections from household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs), pointing to escalating volumes of donated clothing and mounting economic challenges in processing the material.
In a statement issued on 15 December, SATCoL said it had taken “urgent action” to manage expected donation volumes during January, traditionally a peak month for clothing collections. The organisation said that without reducing the volume of textiles handled, it faced operational difficulties that could affect its ability to generate income for The Salvation Army.
SATCoL said increases in donations at HWRCs across the UK were contributing to pricing and cost pressures across the sector. It added that the decision had not been taken lightly and acknowledged that the suspension would inconvenience members of the public wishing to donate clothing.
As one of the UK’s largest handlers of donated textiles, SATCoL said it was working with local authorities and closely monitoring market conditions. It also highlighted ongoing challenges faced by charity collectors in managing both the volume and quality of donated clothing.
Industry sources indicated that the suspension was also linked to concerns about pricing information used within the sector and how accurately it reflects current market conditions. This includes criticism from parts of the industry regarding recent developments in the Materials Pricing Report (MPR), produced by MRW in collaboration with environmental NGO WRAP.
Based on recent MPR data, published with a four-week delay from collection, minimum material prices for HWRC textiles fell into negative values during October and November, before more recently returning to zero. Some organisations have questioned whether these figures align with current market realities, particularly given rising labour and transport costs.
Concerns have also been raised about the limited ability of collectors to pass increased handling costs on to end users. One source told MRW that the suspension of collections strengthened the case for the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles.
EPR reforms for textiles are currently progressing in the EU, following revisions to the Waste Framework Directive in October. These changes are expected to create a 30-month period before EPR requirements come into force.
Alan Wheeler, chief executive of the Textiles Recycling Association (TRA), described SATCoL’s decision as reflecting an “unprecedented crisis” in the global used clothing market. He said the situation had been developing for more than two years, driven by a sharp increase in the volume of low-value new clothing placed on the market and the resulting rise in used clothing collections.
Wheeler noted that while the global supply of used clothing has expanded significantly, markets to support reuse and recycling have not kept pace, leading to oversupply and depressed values. He said that income streams previously associated with textile collections had largely disappeared, with free-of-charge services increasingly under pressure.
He added that policy measures such as EPR, ecodesign standards, minimum recycled content requirements and VAT exemptions for used clothing could help address structural issues in the sector, but warned that any benefits would take several years to materialise.