Berlin (d.de) – On World Environment Day, Germany’s Development Minister Svenja Schulze has called upon the textile industry to recycle more and protect scarce resources. “Too many textiles are produced worldwide that are worn too rarely and discarded too quickly,” explained Schulze. “This throw-away mentality poses an excessive burden on our planet.” She said that an important part of the solution involved buying less clothing and shopping more consciously. She added that less waste and more recycling in textile production was also necessary, however.
According to the German Development Ministry, the textile industry worldwide is responsible for around 20 percent of global fresh water pollution and around ten percent of global carbon emissions – more than international aviation and shipping combined. Despite the enormous resources used in production, less than one percent of global clothing waste is currently recycled.
