Government move to regulate textile imports aims to curb clothing dumps in the Atacama and boost circular economy
In a dusty corner of the Atacama Desert, the driest non-polar region on Earth, mounds of used clothes are scattered across the sand, where they sit, bleached and tattered, under the sun.
As the sea mist drifts over a high coastal plateau above the city of Iquique in Chile’s far north, the breeze rustles plastic bags bursting with second-hand clothing.
Piles of garments stretch into the distance: consignments of nursing uniforms, shipments of shoes, bundles of work overalls and last season’s fast fashion discards, high street tags still attached.
But Chile’s government has taken a decisive step towards addressing the environmental crisis which has beset the Atacama Desert.
