Some 110,000 tonnes of second-hand
clothes are collected in Italy each year in a business worth
approximately 200 million euros, non-profit organisations
operating in the sector said on Tuesday.
However, the used garments donated by Italians and left at
designated collection points increasingly end up fuelling an
illegal trade, according to a study by the Italian chapter of
Humana People to People and research centre Occhio del
Riciclone.
"We believe political action is needed to increase the
level of transparency across the entire chain," said Occhio del
Riciclone president Raniero Maggini.
"The more the chain is controlled by bodies that are not
pursuing profit, the greater the amount of used clothes
effectively destined for charity programmes," added Humana
People to People Italia president Karina Bolin, referring to
municipalities responsible for organising the collection in
particular.
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