A Singapore-based textiles reuse and recycling company has declined an offer to re-sell new clothes donated by an ultra fast-fashion brand on the grounds that it would promote further consumption of disposable goods.
Cloop — a circular social enterprise that collects, repurposes, resells and recycles used clothing — was approached by online retailer Shein, which offered to deposit boxes of garments used for marketing purposes, according to the company.
Cloop told Eco-Business that it did not want to become a “dumping ground” for unsold goods, particularly poorly made products that do not last and cannot be resold — so it turned Shein’s offer down.
The company collects used clothes, bags, shoes, accessories and toys deposited via yellow bins dotted around Singapore. It holds fashion swaps for quality clothing, with the next events scheduled for 5, 6 and 7 June in Singapore. It also recycles some disposed materials via its Malaysian recycling partner, Life Line Clothing.
Cloop’s co-founder Yasmine Tuan told Eco-Business that it encourages people to deposit well-made, usable items in good condition — and does not want to promote the consumption of cheap, disposable garments it could not resell at its fashion swaps.
The firm does receive some deposited clothing from Shein and other fast-fashion brands, but given its quality it can rarely be resold so is sent for recycling.
Shein clarified that it had reached out to three organisations in Singapore to repurpose or recycle store clothing samples rather than junk them. Most disposed textile waste in Singapore is incinerated.
In a statement, Shein said: “Where the opportunity arises, we consider whether surplus materials or items used for marketing and promotional purposes can be redirected for reuse, donation or recycling rather than being sent for disposal. In this instance, we contacted organisations on an informal basis regarding such clothing samples in our office.
“While this engagement was not intended as a formal partnership or an ongoing arrangement, we remain open to engaging with various stakeholders on practical approaches to reuse and recycling.”
The Singapore-headquartered fast-fasion brand generates vast amounts of textile waste due to a business model that encourages the consumption of cheap, disposable clothing made from synthetic fabrics like virgin polyester.
Shein has surged in popularity by offering trendy clothing at low prices amid a cost-of-living crisis, but has attracted widespread criticism for worker exploitation, the use of unsustainable materials and harmful chemicals in some products.
The company has been trying to improve its sustainability credentials, and last year had its climate targets approved by standards body Science Based Targets initiative. But critics pointed out that the company — which generates over 26.2 million metric tonnes of carbon equivalent per year from air freighted synthetic fabrics — has made no attempt to change a business model based on throw-away culture.
Shein has also been involved in initiatives to boost its reputation in fashion circularity. It has partnered with Donghua University in China to scale textile-to-textile polyester recycling technologies and supported the 2025 Amplifier programme to develop and scale textile circularity solutions.
The company is also trying to use more fabric surpluses, known as “deadstock”, where feasible in the production of new clothing. It claims to be increasing the volume of deadstock it uses.
Ultra fast-fashion brands are responsible for an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste globally each year, with 80 per cent ending up in landfill or incinerated. Singapore generates over 150,000 tonnes of textile waste annually, with only a fraction — 3.4 per cent in 2024 — being recycled.
Experts point out that most textile waste in Singapore is not technically recycled, rather it it exported and resold overseas. Singapore has no Extended Producer Responsibility scheme in place for textiles that would hold fashion brands accountable for the waste generated by their operations.
