Disposal and Recycling of Textiles

In 2012, the German textiles and clothing industry, including textile machine manufacturing and chemical fiber production, had 170,000 employees and a total sales of about 80 billion € (about $105 billion). This makes it the second biggest consumer goods industry in Germany. In addition, there are about 280,000 employees worldwide working for German textile companies. In 2013, textile and clothing exports reached 25 billion € (about $32 billion) with imports reaching 35 billion € (about $45 billion) (Gesamtverband Textil+Mode, 2013).