26 million tons of old clothes a year are thrown into the trash can. What is the difficulty in recycling old clothes？

　　The bottom of the pressure box takes up too much space, so it is wasteful to throw it away directly. How to deal with old clothes is a problem that almost every family will face. The data shows that about 26 million tons of old clothes are thrown into the trash can every year in China.

　　The recycling of old clothes is necessary for people’s livelihood and environmental protection, and it also contains huge market space. According to the survey of China Circular Economy Association, the recycling rate of old clothes is less than 1%. Where is the difficulty in recycling old clothes and how to crack it? The reporter conducted an investigation into this.

　　Why is it difficult to recycle old clothes?

　　Compared with China’s annual textile fiber processing volume of over 50 million tons and the clothing market of over one trillion yuan, old clothes seem to be seldom mentioned. However, this piece of clothing hidden in the corner of the wardrobe reflects the embarrassing situation — —

　　According to the data of China Circular Economy Association, about 26 million tons of old clothes are thrown into the trash can every year in China. If these old clothes are incinerated, it will cause waste and pollution; Landfill will affect the soil.

　　It is imperative to recycle old clothes. Although many communities have recycling bins and many families have begun to try them, the recycling rate is less than 1%. Among them, there are very few textiles that can be recycled by generated regenerated fibers, and it is difficult to fundamentally realize recycling.

　　High cost is the main reason.

　　The first is the cost. Jiang Shicheng, an academician of China Academy of Engineering, said that there are usually four ways to recycle old clothes: mechanical, physical, chemical and thermal. It is ideal to reduce it to molecular level by chemical means and then regenerate the fiber. However, this method has high production cost and large-scale production is still limited.

　　The second is the concept. The reporter’s investigation found that many people tend to donate old clothes, and even recycling is mainly for public welfare, which is difficult to accept commercial use. Compared with the recycling process, fewer people accept recycled fiber products.

　　Sun Huaibin, vice president of China National Textile and Apparel Council, said that in some countries in Europe and America, recycled fiber products are more commonly used, and many brands including ZARA and GAP have corresponding product lines. Even if the price is slightly higher, it has many fans. In China, there is still a lack of understanding of recycled fiber products, and many people think that the textiles made from it are unclean and unsafe.

　　"Influenced by the concept, these international brands rarely launch recycled fiber series in domestic stores." An industry insider said.

　　The most important thing is the business model. "Every link needs the investment of commercial power. Compared with donations, the recycling of old clothes depends on a more complete system. " An old clothes recycling practitioner said that at present, the industrial chain is long, the link cost is high, it is difficult for enterprises to make profits and the market is difficult to open.

　　"In particular, the back-end business links are not in place, resulting in no export at the entrance and no industrial cycle." Sun Huaibin said, "Recycled paper has been accepted and popularized for decades. In contrast, the road to recycling old clothes is long."

　　100 billion market to be developed

　　On the one hand, it is an embarrassing situation, on the other hand, it is the trend of low-carbon environmental protection and a huge potential market. It is difficult to promote the recycling of old clothes, but it is full of innovation and attraction.

　　The corresponding attempt is beginning. One-click selection, door-to-door collection of clothes, on the idle fish of Alibaba’s idle trading platform, clothes have started a new journey after sorting, transportation, crushing, cotton opening and other links.

　　According to idle fish data, about 24 million old clothes have been recycled since the corresponding business was launched in March last year. In the last graduation season, about 380,000 pieces of clothes from nearly 400 colleges and universities were recycled through idle fish, which were transformed into automobile sound insulation cotton, greenhouse heat insulation cotton and recycled cloth.

　　Cao Cao’s trip and the old clothes environmental protection public welfare platform jointly launched the "old clothes recycling plan". Create a recycling transportation network by sharing trips and other means, and dynamically track the recycling process.

　　"The large-scale user base determines that the platform can do large-scale public welfare and commercial exploration." Zhu Xingxiang, president of China Circular Economy Association, believes that information technology can improve the efficiency of resource utilization, solve management problems such as whole-process traceability, and explore modes such as sharing and co-creation, so that more people can participate. "internet plus" provides a new idea for promoting the utilization of social idle resources.

　　From making clothes to recycling clothes, some textile and garment enterprises are also taking advantage of the industrial chain to promote the recycling of old clothes.

　　"Waste underwear consists of 17 parts. Hooks, loops and rims belong to recyclable garbage, while shoulder straps and straps belong to dry garbage … …” Underwear brand Aimu launched a recycling and environmental protection campaign in official website Mall, popularized the classification of waste clothing waste, and launched a nationwide underwear recycling campaign through recycling coupons and other means, in conjunction with logistics, decomposition and other manufacturers.

　　Degradation treatment, fabric development, printing and dyeing textiles, logistics storage … … Around the industrial chain, a series of technological and model innovations are also being carried out.

　　"The recycling of waste textiles is not only an environmental protection project, but also a new economy and new kinetic energy, which will give birth to a billion-dollar industry." Jiang Shicheng said.

　　Strengthen management and eliminate "blind spots"

　　Old clothes recycling is a good thing for people’s livelihood and a frontier industry. To promote it healthily and continuously, we still need to improve policies, encourage innovation and standardize management.

　　First of all, it is necessary to clarify who will collect and how to collect the corresponding subjects and standards. The reporter’s investigation found that at present, the recycling of used clothes has just started. Except for some big brands and platforms, most of them are entrepreneurial enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises. The division of labor, cooperation and coordination in the industrial chain still needs to be standardized and clear.

　　For example, many communities have set up recycling bins, but how to manage them and how to track them is still unclear.

　　"Whether the recycling bin can be put, where it can be put, who will take care of it after it is put, and who to look for if there is a problem, all need to be further clarified." Xu Yan, a resident of Chaoyang District, Beijing, hopes to clarify the regulatory authorities and management standards as soon as possible, set qualifications and thresholds, and achieve true recycling to prevent some unscrupulous traders from reselling for profit.

　　Secondly, it is necessary to manage and support industrial development and better encourage innovation.

　　At present, the main way to recycle old clothes is to use recycled fibers for the second time. However, the corresponding industrial preferential policies for renewable resources have not yet covered the field of waste textiles. Although some enterprises have made breakthroughs in research and development, they lack production enthusiasm due to high cost and low market recognition of finished products.

　　Experts suggest that relevant standards should be formulated as soon as possible to ensure the orderly recycling of old clothes; Give preferential policies in finance and taxation, and encourage enterprises and platforms to innovate; Encourage scientific research on recycling; Strengthen internal and external supervision and eliminate industry chaos.

　　In addition, many people suggest establishing a "clear account" for the recycling of used clothes, so as to make it well documented, eliminate the doubts of the masses, and promote the concept of low-carbon life and scientific environmental protection in the whole society.

　　(According to Xinhua News Agency)