The Dark Side of Fast Fashion: Chile's Clothing Dumping Crisis

Mon Apr 20 2026 01:40:53 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

An exploration into how recycled clothes from around the world end up as waste in the Atacama Desert, highlighting the environmental and social implications of fast fashion.

In northern Chile, an alarming 39,000 tonnes of old clothes are dumped annually in the Atacama Desert, raising concerns over environmental negligence and the exploitative practices behind the second-hand clothing trade. As the country grapples with its role as a major importer of used garments, a new factory aims to address the waste problem and comply with new legislation mandating better waste management for textiles.

If you have ever taken old clothes to a recycling bank, be it in the UK or North America, there is a real chance that the garments ended up illegally dumped in a desert in northern Chile.

The South American country is one of the world's biggest importers of used clothing, but items that fail to be resold have for years been simply discarded in big piles out in the barren, bone-dry countryside. In response to a law change, one Chilean company is now moving to tackle the problem.

Chile imports 123,000 tonnes of used clothes every year, according to government estimates. The big driver of this is the free-trade port of Iquique in the north of the country.

Businesses in the city and surrounding towns can import, store and sell goods without having to pay customs duties or VAT. Known as Zofri, which stands for Zona Franca del Iquique (Iquique Free Trade Zone), it was created in 1975 to boost economic and social development in northern Chile.

Used clothes became one of the biggest imports. They continue to arrive from the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, baled up in shipping containers. The clothing is either sold locally or exported to other countries in Latin America.

Felipe González, the general manager of Zofri, says the 50 or so clothing import firms help the local economy. It's a sector that gives the most work to local women in the region, with around 10% working with textiles. The women help to put the clothes in different categories according to their quality. It's not highly-skilled labour, which makes it accessible for people without lots of qualifications.

The worst quality clothes end up at La Quebradilla, a huge open-air market near the town of Alto Hospicio, around half an hour uphill from Iquique, and still within Zofri.

However, much of the clothing that cannot be sold is either illegally burned or dumped in the Atacama Desert, resulting in a massive environmental crisis with about 39,000 tonnes discarded each year. As the town faces challenges dealing with this waste, a new factory is being established to convert the discarded clothing into useful materials, thus aiming to provide a sustainable solution to the problem while creating jobs locally.