Japan – clothing take-back for recycling and reuse

With the increasing amount of clothing entering the waste stream in the UK and responsibility for end-of-life products being placed upon producers, solutions for diverting this waste/resource from landfill are needed. One country that has faced similar problems to the UK (for example limited landfill space and increase in the amount of waste generated) is Japan. A number of Japanese companies are tackling this problem through the implementation of voluntary in-store clothing collection schemes for recycling and reuse.



A summary document entitled “Clothing Take-Back for Recycling and Reuse: A Japanese Insight” has been released this week by consultancy Oakdene Hollins Ltd. The four page document provides a snapshot of three Japanese clothing take-back schemes, all voluntarily run by businesses; Takashimaya (a prestigious department store), Uniqlo (a leading high street value retailer) and Kurabo (a corporate clothing manufacturer and supplier). These schemes enable the reuse and recycling of end-of-life clothing with routes for disposal ranging from charitable donations to thermal recycling.



The author, Fiona Kelday, chose to produce the document as she thinks that Japan has a well developed infrastructure for recycling and reuse of clothing and fibres combined with an innovative fibre and textile industry. In addition to this, there is a huge amount of new and interesting activity taking place with respect to sustainability and producer responsibility in the Japanese retail industry.



The document is targeted at all stakeholders in the UK retail industry. It is hoped that it will stimulate conversation and actions in this area and drive demand for similar industry-led initiatives in the UK to help meet the growing demand for producer responsibility and improved environmental business performance.