“A piece of clothing should no longer end up in the trash”

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What is the activity of the Relays?

For 40 years, our integration company has been raising awareness among individuals about sorting through the network of collection bins.

We sort the clothes, which go either for recycling or reuse. The Relay has a dual purpose, social and environmental.

Textile waste is very expensive and this generates tax.

People should have the reflex to save themselves this tax that they pay through their taxes, by sorting.

The community, via taxpayers, pays very dearly for the treatment of waste.

What do you do with the collected textiles?

Clothes that can still be worn either go to our 80 Ding Fring stores, which are doing quite well, or are sent to the African continent.

7% of clothes are returned to France.

This is called cream.

This reuse sector supports 2,000 jobs in France and a thousand in Africa.

We recycle damaged or holed clothes.

Whatever the quality of the jeans donated, we know how to recycle them.

What is the trend in terms of the quality of the clothes collected?

There is a long-term trend of deterioration in the quality of clothing.

This is a profound trend, linked to the textile industry subject to economic pressure from consumers, who want ever cheaper clothes. We go to price and degrade quality.

Obviously, in 30 or 40 years, the quality of clothing, in general, has deteriorated.

This is true for clothing as for all other consumer items.

The share of reuse has fallen significantly among the donations collected, and the share of recycling has increased.

How are the quantities of textiles collected by Le Relais evolving?

20 years ago, we collected 50 tonnes of textiles per year.

Today, we are at 250 tonnes. The quantities are increasing. But we know that the deposit is even greater: 650,000 tonnes of textiles per year are placed on the market in France.

And communities still find 400,000 tonnes of textile waste in trash bins.

We must be able to significantly increase our collections further. Clothing should no longer end up in the trash.

Because clothing donated to the Relais means jobs created in France, and a good gesture for the environment.

Are second-hand clothing resale platforms harming you?

Vinted and other LeBoncoin took the “cream” of clothing from us, but did not take away any quantity.

As proof, in 2024, we collected around 3% more textiles than in 2023. Donations are not decreasing and that’s good.

On the contrary, the good news is that these sites have democratized the phenomenon of second-hand consumption.

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