A new report from the European Environment Agency has found that Europe’s export volume of used textiles, including clothing and footwear, has tripled in the last two decades.

In 2000, the European Union exported slightly over 550,000 tons, which increased to 1.7 million tons in 2019, amounting to 8.4 pounds of waste per person each year. While much of this is exported to Asia and Africa, the report highlights that consumers’ good intentions of donating their used clothing for reuse are often not realized. “Common public perceptions that used clothing donations are always of use in those regions do not reflect the reality,” the report said.

The report also found that bio-based fibers such as rayon and viscose, often promoted as eco-friendly, have significant environmental impacts. While these fibers do not contain oil-based and plastic textiles such as polyester, they contribute to other environmental pressures “including water and land use related to agricultural activities, deforestation and fiber processing,” the report said.

The report noted that Europe faces a challenge in how to handle its own used textiles as the export channels to the global south close. The EU will be required to collect and sort textiles separately from other waste by 2025, and it is also rolling out new rules that will limit the export of used textiles to developing countries, with a ban on all waste destined for disposal expected to be finalized later this year. However, the report stated that Europe doesn't have the capability or capacity to recycle most of its used garments and footwear.

In 2019, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi planned to phase out the import of secondhand textiles from industrialized nations, but only Rwanda has implemented the plan following economic threats from the U.S.