Value recovery of textile waste: reverse supply chain of the charity organizations in Finland

Purpose:
In Europe, consumers generate about 5.8 million tons of textile waste per year, two-thirds of which disposed on landfills. An expected increase in global textile consumption emphasises a need for waste management solutions. The paper investigates value recovery systems of the second-hand charity organizations in Finland with the purpose of understanding their value recovery mechanism in reverse textile supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach:
The research involves an interpretive multiple case study of three leading charity organizations focused on the textile collection, processing and redistribution. The data sources include participant observations and semi-structured interviews.

Findings:
The paper demonstrates variations in system design and sorting practices. The systems differ in structure, volume and quality of textile inflows, sorting approaches, and overall value recovered with unequal levels of transparency.

Research limitations:
The paper focuses on the leading charity organizations with the store chains in the Helsinki area only. It excludes second-hands operating for-profit and public reuse centres.

Practical implications:
An example of the sustainability forerunners is applicable for designing similar sustainable solutions in other locations.

Social implications:
Besides fund collection from textile trade for humanitarian purposes, the charity organizations decrease negative environmental impact by reducing landfill and promoting reuse of products. The model raises awareness of world development problems and humanitarian crises.

Original/value:
The research addresses the importance of reverse supply chain and sustainability issues in textile waste management.