Following our earlier publication on the human side of textile recycling in India—which highlighted the harsh working conditions faced by recycling workers—we now turn our attention to Pakistan to examine how the sector operates there. In India, textile recycling is characterised by widespread informality, serious health and safety risks, and the prevalence of child labour. But what is the situation in Pakistan? Does the industry pose similar risks, or are workers in this country relatively better off?
Arisa’s new publication, The Human Cost of Textile Recycling: Case Study Pakistan, offers a sneak peek into the world of textile recycling in Pakistan. Large volumes of discarded clothing imported from around the world are processed in the country, either to be re-exported or sold in domestic second-hand markets. In addition, Pakistan’s own garment and textile industry generates significant amounts of textile waste, which is recycled into fibres. These fibres are then spun into yarn and used to manufacture new garments and textile products.
As in India, informality is widespread throughout the sector. As a result, workers face a lack of job security and have no access to social protection. Many do not receive a minimum wage, and serious health and safety risks persist. Without formal proof of employment, workers are unable to assert their rights, including the right to fair pay and safe working conditions.
Read more about the textile recycling industry in Pakistan and the people who work in it here.
This publication is part of a mini-series on textile recycling. Earlier, Arisa published The Fast Fashion Waste Mountain that explores the growing pile of global textile waste and the different routes to reuse, recycling and landfill that this waste might take, and The human cost of textile recycling: Case study India, that shows the hidden side of textile recycling in India.
