Argentina faces a growing environmental risk: the used clothing entering the country in massive volumes threatens to turn the country into an unmanageable textile dump.
This is warned by the organization ProTejer: according to their data, in just one year, second-hand garments have come to represent more than 11% of the total of imported clothing.
This leap marks a turning point that worries the sector. The practice that was once marginal now takes on a structural character, according to the entity.
The central question, they point out, is whether Argentina really wants to become a textile dump that absorbs global waste.
Jujuy, the gateway of discard
When volumes exceed the real capacity for reuse, the result is predictable: the clothing doesn’t sell, accumulates, and ends up as textile waste within the country.
In 2025, more than 80% of used clothing entered through Jujuy, mainly originating from Chile and large discard centers like those in the Atacama Desert.
ProTejer claims that a significant portion of the bales contains broken or stained garments, without traceability.
Moreover, these are mostly composed of synthetic fibers and may contain potentially hazardous chemicals.
For the entity, merely requiring a disinfection certificate does not solve the underlying problem, as it does not control chemical substances nor verify the composition of the garments.
In their assessment, Argentina risks importing waste under the label of reuse, when in reality it is only fostering the creation of a textile dump.
The health risks and public cost of a textile dump
The impact is not only environmental. Used clothing can carry fungi, bacteria, mites, and allergenic agents, with concrete health risks for vulnerable populations.
Additionally, when these garments fail to sell, the cost of their disposal falls on the State.
Municipalities, provinces, and the Nation must take responsibility for waste that has already entered the country in discard conditions.
This implies transferring to Argentine society an environmental problem generated in other countries.
In its report, ProTejer identified multiple impacts of the massive entry of used clothing:
- Unfair competition with local production
- Destruction of formal employment
- Increased commercial informality
- Loss of tax revenue
- Accumulation of textile waste
For the industry, it is discarded merchandise in the countries of origin that enters at impossible prices to match.
Argentina maintained for years the prohibition of importing used clothing for health, environmental, and productive reasons. That barrier no longer exists today.
The current data showed the effects of that change. The country now faces a fundamental decision: does it want to become a destination for global textile discard?
From ProTejer’s perspective, when fast fashion finds no outlet, it seeks open borders.
And, if there are no clear limits, the discard doesn’t pass through: it remains as trash within Argentine territory.
