Dive Brief:
- Adidas, H&M Group, Zara-owner Inditex and Danish fashion company Bestseller have launched a coalition that seeks to tackle secondhand textile waste and boost circularity in collaboration with Ghana-based nonprofit The Or Foundation.
- The Apparel Recovery Coalition aims to explore how producer responsibility systems — frameworks that entail brands taking responsibility for the lifecycle of their products after consumers are done using them — can boost circular pathways like reuse, recycling and upcycling, as well as support responsible waste management strategies in countries that receive exported secondhand clothing in bulk.
- Over the course of its two-year run, ARC plans to develop and test a business model aimed at producer responsibility. The model will be designed to reflect global post-consumer textile flows, and the group also plans to encourage brands, recyclers, sorters, policymakers and affected communities to come up with practical solutions, according to a Sept. 29 press release.
Dive Insight:
The coalition was unveiled last week at Kantamanto Market in Accra, Ghana, which is one of the largest global hubs for sustainable fashion practices like reuse, repair and recycling. The market recirculates around 25 million garments every month, according to an estimate from The Or Foundation. Because of this, the market provides an important lens for understanding post-consumer textiles, in addition to their related environmental and social impacts, like water and soil pollution, the brands said.
One of the stated aims of ARC is to “test more inclusive approaches to governance, design, and implementation” by embedding community perspectives into its project goals, actions, and insights, according to its website.
The coalition, which is also backed by circularity-focused nonprofit Circle Economy, aims to build on the work The Or Foundation has done over the past 15 years to develop Ghana’s existing circular textile ecosystem, the brands said. The nonprofit’s work focuses on the intersection of environmental justice, education and sustainable fashion.
Its first demonstration project will be based in Accra, where the coalition will build on this experience and continue to implement initiatives like infrastructure improvements, environmental remediation and training programs. ARC also said it plans to add another project in a different country that receives large volumes of secondhand clothing.
Adidas, H&M, Inditex and Bestseller will make voluntary financial contributions to support such projects and boost circular economy initiatives, per the release.
“The coalition hopes the evidence and practical learnings generated through these demonstration projects will help inform brands, policymakers, producer responsibility organizations (PROs) and other stakeholders working to strengthen post-consumer textile management systems worldwide,” the release said.
The funding from these fashion brands comes amid growing scrutiny over the environmental footprint incurred through their manufacturing operations and production. Inditex’s latest sustainability report found the company used 705,554 metric tons of raw materials in its products, up from 678,596 metric tons in 2024. Meanwhile, H&M’s most recent sustainability report states the company produced 364,093 metric tons of products in 2025, the equivalent of 36 Eiffel Towers.
The coalition expects to scale over time by involving other companies and stakeholders who seek to help solve global textile waste challenges.
