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Shame on the West’s fast fashion addiction: Chile’s mountain of discarded clothes can now be seen from SPACE
A mountain of discarded clothing in Chile has grown so large that it can be seen from space.
The red rock desert of Chile’s Atacama Plateau has become a dumping ground for the West’s used and defective fashion items in recent years, with everything from ski boots to Christmas sweaters ending up in landfill in the area.
The growing and increasingly toxic pile of discarded clothing reflects the remnants of the approximately 59,000 tons of used and unsold clothing that arrive at Chile’s port of Iquique each year from Europe, Asia and the United States.
Anything that can’t be sold all over South America stays here as it slowly decays.
These images were obtained by SkyFi, a consumer app whose mission is to democratize space by making access to satellite imagery and technology more easily available to everyone
The growing and increasingly toxic pile of discarded clothing atop Chile’s Atacama desert plateau is the remains of the approximately 59,000 tons of used and unsold clothing that arrive at Chile’s port of Iquique each year from Europe, Asia and the United States
These images were obtained by SkyFia consumer app that sees it as its mission to democratize space by making access to satellite imagery and technology more easily available to everyone.
“The satellite image we ordered of the pile of clothes in Chile’s Atacama Desert puts things into perspective,” a SkyFi spokesperson said.
“The size of the pile and the pollution it creates is visible from space, highlighting the need for change in the fashion industry.”
Many of the garments made with synthetics, or treated with chemicals, will take up to 200 years to biodegrade, leaving toxins in their wake, such as carcinogenic azo dyes and phthalates used in artificial leather, which are linked to ADHD, asthma and diabetes .
SkyFi said they were able to pinpoint the geo-coordinates of the landfill site with the help of activists on the Discord communications platform.
America’s and the rest of the developed world’s addiction to fast-fashion has escalated into a growing multi-billion dollar industry. According to a report, the market size for sloppy-made, short-trendy clothing will grow from $106.42 billion to $122.98 billion by 2023
As merchants from Chile’s capital Santiago buy some of the tens of thousands of tons of discarded clothing that pours into Chile’s port of Iquique from the developed world, at least 39,000 tons of truly unwanted items end up in the Atacama each year
America’s and the rest of the developed world’s addiction to fast-fashion has escalated into a growing $100 billion industry, according to a report by The Business Research Company.
The market size for sloppy, short-trendy clothing has continued to grow from $106.42 billion to $122.98 billion in 2023, according to the market research firm’s analysis.
While news media reports of the rampant and volatile obsessions of the garment industry are often reflected in revelations of child labor or slave wages in countries like China or Bangladesh, the end-of-cycle damage to the natural world has only recently gained more attention. .
Via the Iquique port in northern Chile, the South American country has become a hub for second-hand and unsold clothes that are resold throughout Latin America.
While merchants from Chile’s capital, Santiago, buy some of the tens of thousands of tons of discarded clothing pouring in from the developed world, at least 39,000 tons of truly unwanted items end up in the Atacama each year.
“These clothes come from all over the world,” said Alex Carreno, a former employee from the import area of Iquique. news agency AFP in 2021.
“What isn’t sold to Santiago or shipped to other countries stays in the free zone,” Carreno said, because no one wants to incur the sitff fare costs required to drag the clothes elsewhere.